WHAT IF THE HULK WAS A LOUNGE SINGER?

Big effin' props to my arteeest buddy Adam Gustavson and blogger Adam Rex who actually posted this. Me being the casino junkie, I just had to duplicate. Hemingway's Lounge poses the question: Just what if Marvel's big green fightin' machine chucked it all and headed for the Queen of Resorts to take up lounge singing? Just what if...

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OUR NEW BLOG: BUKOWSKI'S BASEMENT

Check out our new blog, Bukowski's Basement (which has been under construction for about a week or so).

Think of our new subterranean dwelling as the red headed stepchild of Hemingway's Lounge. Over there, we'll showcase some of our grittier creative writing posts that seemed a little out of place on Papa H's blog. We'll also be exploring the writings of some of our skid row luminaries. There will also be musings, videos, amazing podcasts (on the right rail), book reviews and the like.

So pour yourself some cheap hooch and settle in because we're here to celebrate all things wondrous in the gin-soaked literary landscape of Chuck Buk, Jack Kerouac, Tom Waits and Raymond Carver.

Click HERE to check it out.

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BAD BUZZ?? NO PROBLEM!

Spout takes a look at 10 movies that overcame Bad Buzz. While I don't agree with some of the entrants on author Christopher Campbell's list, it does prove screenwriter William Goldman's old adage: "In Hollywood, nobody knows anything..." As for the first film? Cameron's vanity project and the film that made Leo a household name - "Titanic" takes the top stop.

10 Movies That Overcame Bad Buzz

Two big movies arrive in theaters this week, The Incredible Hulk and The Happening, and each has had its share of bad buzz. From what I can tell, though, the former is recuperating quite nicely with mostly favorable early reviews. And it’s sure to gross in the hundreds of millions, just like its big brother, Ang Lee’s Hulk, did a few years back. The latter, however, is still struggling through the muck, with writer-director M. Night Shyamalan doing everything he can to assure us that his film is merely a B-movie and shouldn’t be the victim of high expectations.

Click HERE to read the rest of the piece.

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DARABONT'S 'INDY' SCRIPT LEAKED

The horror! Cybergeeks and fanboys thought it would never happen but alas, two reviews are up of the Frank Darabont version of the "Indiana Jones IV" script which leaked online last week.

The basic gist is that they all the complained about silly stuff (fridge, monkeys, mothership) that's still in there, but the rest is of better quality - especially Marion's character. Check the reviews here and here.

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R.I.P: NBC's Tim Russert Dead At 58

The New York Times is reporting that NBC Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert has died from an apparent heart attack. The are citing family reports. He was 58-years-old.

According to the MSNBC biography on Russert, he was the Managing Editor and Moderator of "Meet the Press" and political analyst for "NBC Nightly News" and the "TODAY" program. He anchors "The Tim Russert Show," a weekly interview program on MSNBC. Russert also serves as senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of NBC News.

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PRISSY TV REPORTER GOES ALL GHETTO

Leave it to our bloggin' buddy at Sand and Cotton to find the funniest shit online - so much so that I had to share. Check out what happens when this prim and proper reporter eats and bug and gets all ghetto. Simple but hilarious.


http://view.break.com/516661 - Watch more free videos

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IT'S OFFICIAL: SHYAMALAN'S A HACK

Back in the '90s, M. Night Shyamalan sucker-punched the movie-going public with "The Sixth Sense." It was a creepy throwback ghost story that reminded us that scary doesn't need to be gore and slash. It was reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone" and with that surprise ending, an A-lister was born.

His follow-up, "Unbreakable," was actually a damn good movie but sadly, came out way before its time. With current fanboy mania and the blogs it produces, there's no doubt in my mind that if it was marketed today as a bonafide comic book movie, it would do boffo biz. Instead, the Mouse House decided to make it look like another creepy "Sixth Sense" knock off. Not the case. But let it be known: that was his last good film.


What he's managed to do is successfully pull the wool over audiences, tricking them into thinking he's a better director than he actually is. It doesn't help matters that he's a raging egomaniac and has an extremely high opinion of himself and his work. He thinks he's Hitchcock. At this point, he's more like Corman.

"Signs" was a joke that had one good money shot in it as well as A-lister Mel Gibson. I wanted to throw my popcorn at the screen after the dopey reveal in "The Village." As for his ill-conceived fairy tale "The Lady in the Water"? I can't even get through it. It's THAT dreadful.

So, for "The Happening," the director has gone back to basics of scaring people. But I think it's pretty sad that his studio is marketing this film as "M. Night's first R-rated film" What the hell does THAT have to do with the price of tea in China?

In any case, the reviews are starting to trickle in for "The Happening" and they ain't good. Garth at Dark Horizons says:

"The Happening" in many ways is a make or break film for the man. It's a return to the paranoia thriller genre that gave us "Signs", his familiar set up of a broken nuclear family being brought back together by a Twilight Zone-esque experience, and yet another homage to one of his mentor Hitchcock's most famous works - in this case "The Birds". It doesn't work. In fact, excluding a few moments of chilling effectiveness, this could fairly be called his worst film yet.

To read the entire review, click HERE.

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WILL 'HULK' BE INCREDIBLE?

Dark Horizons has long been a maverick film news and buzz web site and its webmaster Garth Franklin is often on the money with his reviews. Here is a brief excerpt of his take on this Friday's "The Incredible Hulk."

Not the home run that they hit the first time around with "Iron Man", this second effort of the new Marvel Studios is good enough that it fixes some of the key problems brought up by Ang Lee's generally dismissed first attempt at adapting Hulk for the big screen.

Despite a lot of outright hostility towards it these days, the 2003 "Hulk" remains a textbook example of a noble failure. Superhero movies are like the James Bond franchise - variations on the same formula. Those that truly succeed push the boundaries, but also stick to and make best use of certain pre-set structural rules. Lee's "Hulk" abandoned them altogether, crafting an odd blend of morose 'Jekyll and Hyde' melodrama and ridiculously flamboyant action-fantasy antics. Visually it was bold, even innovative, but in terms of storytelling it was a fascinating jumbled mess - distant, bloated, ambitious, arty and often impenetrable.

In contrast Louis Letterier and Edward Norton's new incarnation of the green meanie has no such lofty ideals or hidden depths. This 'Hulk' is designed purely for fast, formulaic mainstream thrills by mixing a chase thriller across the Americas with a few key set pieces of Hulk smashing up things. It's derivative to be sure, various scenes cribbing off better efforts of the genre along with other recent hits, but the script balances its disparate elements enough to likely satisfy fans.

To read the rest of the review, click HERE.

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STEVEN SEAGAL is 'COCKPUNCHER' !!

Ok, I know this is stupid... Maybe why that's why I find it hilarious. Thanks to The Onion.

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HILARIOUS POLITICAL VID

While I'm never one for political posts or pontificating about the upcoming presidential election, this hilarious video (courtesy of Slate) is one of the best (and most informative) viral vids I've seen in a while. It's seven minutes so get some joe and enjoy ...

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THE TOP 20 FILMS THAT MAKE MEN CRY

Via The Sporting News

We've come to it my friends. You knew this list was coming. You wished it wouldn't, but it is time. I feel that we've begun to share a report with each other, the Blawger and the Blawgee, so we can now share a little of ourselves, or at least, I hope we've come to that point.

There's nothing worse than being ahead in any relationship. As George Costanza would tell you, when you get ahead in any relationship you lose "hand." Some have never had "hand." I've been lucky to have it a couple of times, and I don't want to lose it here.

I do want to say that this list was originally supposed to be ten films, but I had to supersize it, because I kept on thinking about more movies. I even had to leave a few off the list, and it's frakking 20 films long! So I'm sorry Spartacus, you didn't make the cut, but I will always be Spartacus!

To see the list click HERE.

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TONY STARK IN 'HULK' TRAILER!

Shameless marketing or just simple continuity in the Marvel universe? Hmmm, being that "Iron Man" is the first true blockbuster of the summer and has overperformed in just about every market, is there any wonder that Marvel Studios is looking to build upon that hype by putting Stark's mug right up front? Good call. I love it and want more...

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'FLEMING' SCRIPT REVIEW

Last week, we told you about Leo DiCaprio starring in the Ian Fleming film biopic. Now, check out this mixed script review for "Fleming." Click HERE.

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JIM HENSON: VISIONARY

In this awesome video from 1982, "Muppets" creator Jim Henson speaks candidly about how high definition video is the future of both Filmmaking and Cable Television and how the masses will eventually have widescreen televisions in their homes. Mind you, folks, this was 1982 - THE VCR wasn't really even a factor in homes yet. That's a visionary...

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE': ATLANTIC CITY COMES TO HBO

Call it "Deadwood" on the Boardwalk.

"The Sopranos" top scribe Terence Winter will explore Atlantic City's seedy underbelly the dark for Martin Scorsese. He'll be writing the director's new HBO project "Boardwalk Empire," which will be produced by Entourage honchos Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson.

The project will be based on on Nelson Johnson's book "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City," which revolves around the now-gambling mecca's early 20th century origins, according to Variety.

Winter sounds just like the guy to capture the boardwalk's grittiness. He rose up through the ranks on "The Sopranos" to exec producer and eventually helmed episodes of the hit drama -- which, like "Boardwalk Empire," took place in the Garden State. He recently scored the WGA nod for drama series episode, for the "Sopranos" episode "The Second Coming."

"HBO's been my home for nine years," he said. "From day one I've never been happier working for any network or group of people. They presented me with the ("Boardwalk Empire") book and said they thought a series was there -- go find it."

Winter has also been busy on two different film projects for Scorsese: the adaptation of "The Wolf of Wall Street" at Warner Bros. and rock 'n' roll epic "The Long Play."

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EDWARD NORTON LOSES WGA CREDIT

Doesn't it seem that every project Edward Norton is involved with ends in some sort of arbitration?

IESB reports that screenwriter Zak Penn is receiving sole credit for the upcoming "Incredible Hulk."

Edward Norton's name or his pen name (Edward Harrison) for that matter is nowhere to be found as a writer in the final credits. As it stands, "Screen story and Screenplay" is solely credited to Zak Penn. Although word on the grapevine is that Norton rewrote Penn's draft of the script.

Those who read it say it was amazing. IESB contacted Zak Penn's office to ask about the credit and they confirmed Penn will be receiving sole writing credit on the film.

Universal reps are saying, "WGA determined the writing credit not Zak or Edward or Universal or Marvel. WGA always determines final writing credit for our films right before the film comes out. Up until that time, we include the writers on the project to date."

IESB's call to the WGA got this response, "Zak Penn is receiving sole credit for story and screenplay."

Apparently, there was arbitration, which is quite common since two screenwriters were listed. The WGA sided with Zak Penn.

The Oscar-nominated actor has a reputation for being difficult. Tony Kaye, who directed him in “American History X,” charged Norton re-edited the flick to give himself more screen time. And screenwriter/director Joe Eszterhas once cracked: “You don’t want Edward Norton to star in your movie. He now rewrites all the scripts he agrees to act in.”

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WATCH OUT IPHONE...

... Google's Android has you in it's crosshairs. Check out this hot new phone. Wonder who will carry it?

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R.I.P. - A PIECE OF AMERICANA

CONFIRMED... The recent Universal fire was declared an accident due to workers using blowtorches. The park says that it will NOT be rebuilt but replaced with “a new, compelling guest experience.” A shame...

The 7-ton, 30 foot-tall Kong figure was the largest and most complex animatronic figure in existence for many years. When it opened on June 14, 1986, its sophistication broke new ground, and paved the way for the most complex of today's themed attractions. A second more elaborate ride was constructed at Orlando's Universal park in 1990. It was called "Kongfrontation" and closed down in 2002.

Kong was part of the park's famous Studio Tour, which lasts about 45 minutes. It's led by a tour guide (seen throughout the tram on a video screen) and travels through the Front Lot, Backlot and various attractions. Along the way are sets and props from many famous movies and is the signature attraction at the Universal Studios Hollywood. Unlike many other theme park studio tours, this one goes into the heart of a busy, working movie studio.

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THE 100 BEST MOVIE POSTERS

... According to Tccandler.com, that is. But it's an interesting list. I always said never to underestimate the power of a kick-ass one-sheet. In my opinion, nothing can get someone more stoked for a film than a striking image.

Originally, film posters were produced for the exclusive use of the theatres exhibiting the film the poster was created for, and the posters were required to be returned to the distributor after the film left the theatre. In the United States, posters were usually returned to a nation-wide operation called the National Screen Service (NSS) which printed and distributed most of the film posters for the studios between 1940 and 1984. As an economy measure, the NSS regularly recycled posters that were returned, sending them back out to be used again at another theatre. During this time, a film could stay in circulation for several years, and so many old film posters were badly worn before being retired into storage at an NSS warehouse (most often, they were thrown away when they were no longer needed or had become too worn to be used again). Those posters which were not returned were often thrown away by the theatre owner, but some film posters found their way into the hands of collectors.

Beginning in the 1980s, the film studios began taking over direct production and distribution of their posters from the National Screen Service and the process of making and distributing film posters became decentralised. Today, film posters are generally produced in much larger quantities than necessary to promote a film at the theatres, because they are also sold directly to the public by retailers who purchase them at wholesale prices from the studio distributors. Modern film posters are also often sold from websites set up by the studio to promote a given film. Because of this, modern posters are not considered rare, and are usually readily available for purchase by collectors.

TRIVIA: The 1932 Mummy 3-sheet poster, of which only 1 copy is known to exist, is considered to be the most valuable film poster in the world.

Click HERE to see the list.

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HOW AWEOME ...

... is this new "Dark Knight" trailer?????

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