Some Quick Tidbits

● What a day August 21 is shaping to be for movie fans. Not only is Inglorious Basterds opening and James Cameron’s Avatar is screening a FREE 15 minutes of footage at 3D IMAX theaters across the globe, but not two months into filming, we are going to get our first visual glimpse of Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi action epic Inception. Can I get HELL YEAH?! For you loyal Movie Mashers, Inception is a film that you should be intimately familiar with, as I have discussed it in great detail for months now. Filming started back in June and it looks as though Warner Bros. is wasting no time in getting their marketing campaign going a year in advance to get people jacked up.

A brief teaser trailer will reportedly play in front of SOME prints of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds on Friday August 21, according to Warner Bros.’ exhibitor website. It had better be playing at the AMC in Roseville or there’s gonna be hell to pay. Shooting is currently in full-effect and recent reports have Nolan & Co. currently filming in London, with a worldwide production set to film in Tokyo, Los Angeles and Canada. This is great because we will finally get a better idea of what the film will look like, and more importantly, what it’s about; as the current and only description of the film is a “sci-fi action film set within the architecture of the mind.”Although, some detailed “inside information” has recently surfaced about the plot which claims Inception “involves dreams and the idea that DiCaprio can go into them and make business deals there.” Whaaaaaa????????

So what will this teaser trailer include? As many of you remember from the summer of 2007, the initial teaser trailer for The Dark Knight only featured the iconic bat symbol with a brief voice over of Bruce Wayne, Alfred and The Joker. They can’t really follow the same format with Inception, as it is a completely original property with no such iconic symbol for immediate franchise association. So it would be reasonable to assume that Nolan will include actual footage of Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy in action. Right? Fingers crossed!!!

● Just a few days ago, I posted the first full-length trailer of Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus starring Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Christopher Plummer, Colin Farrell and Jude Law. I expressed mild concern about its release in the US as it had set release dates all over Europe, but not in the states…yet. Rest assured Movie Mashers, Dr. Parnassus & Co. are headed for a theater near you and it looks as though it will be towards the end of the year. Variety has the scoop that Parnassus will indeed be picked up for domestic distribution by Sony Pictures Classics. The report says that the Parnassus deal with Sony has long been in the works and could be made official this week. Yaaaaay Heath!

● On a far somber note, the inevitable Wolverine sequel is apparently kicking into high gear. The film grossed over $360 million worldwide, so it’s obvious Fox would drag out a follow-up. But for cryin’ out loud people! X-Men Origins: Wolverine was widely ripped by critics and fans due to it’s lackadaisical effects, abundance of villains, lack of focus and raping of the source material, among other things; but I guess money talks. Just a few days ago, Hugh Jackman told MTV that the sequel would see Logan venturing to Japan for some samurai training and Eastern philosophy. He elaborated:

“Japan is where we’re heading, and we’re starting to work on it now. We’re in the… first steps of developing that story.I think the fans love that saga. It’s my favorite saga of the Wolverine stories. That’s a movie I’ve longed to make from the beginning, so that’s where we’re heading.”

(Huge sigh) As much as I DO NOT want to see Wolverine in action again, I am taking some comfort in the handing over of the script-writing reigns. Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie has reportedly just singed on to pen the sequel. McQuarrie has proven to be capable of drafting some pretty solid and compelling screenplays; The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie previously. So at this point I’m very hostile after the last Wolverine dump Fox took on the silver screen, but who knows, with the right script and better effects, a Wolverine sequel could be tolerable.

What Do You Think? Discuss.