Blog Archives
Great Lincoln’s Beard: Ron Burgundy Is Writing A Memoir
“Ron Burgundy’s “classy” life story will soon be coming to book shelves. A memoir about San Diego’s fictional Action 4 News Team anchor was announced on Wednesday to coincide with the upcoming release of “Anchorman: The Legend Continues,” a sequel to the 2004 hit comedy starring Will Ferrell, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” “Let Me Off at the Top! My Classy Life and Other Musings” will chronicle Burgundy’s beginnings, from his early childhood to his rise as a star journalist. No topics are off limits, including Burgundy’s many love conquests and his beloved dog, Baxter. “The list of legendary American broadcast news journalists is short: Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, and, of course, Ron Burgundy,” said Mauro Di Preta, vice president and editor-in-chief at the memoir’s publishing house, Crown Archetype. “The printed page will allow Ron to tell his story in a much more intimate way. ‘Let Me Off at the Top!’ will be a classic for years to come.” “Burgundy” also has high hopes for the memoir. “I don’t know if it’s the greatest autobiography ever written. I’m too close to the work,” Burgundy said in a press release, adding,”I will tell you this much: The first time I sat down and read this thing…I cried like a goddamn baby, and you can take that to the bank!” “Let Me Off at the Top! My Classy Life and Other Musings” will be released in digital and print formats on Nov. 19.” – CBS News
Will Ferrell and company sure do know how to build anticipation for a movie. Apparently the book, titled Let Me Off At The Top! My Classy Life and Other Musings, will document Ron Burgundy’s entire life, from childhood to his exploits as an anchorman. I have a feeling we’ve seen the last of Will Ferrell until Anchorman premieres December 20th. He’s 100% Ron Burgundy now. While I can’t see many other movies adopting this type of marketing strategy, one thing is for sure: no one transforms themselves into the characters they play better than Will Ferrell.
– Ryan
Spike Jonze’s “Her” Trailer
Is there anything Joaquin Phoenix can’t do? Her is a semi futuristic love story between a struggling writer (Phoenix) and his new at home computer operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Phoenix’s character is fresh off a break up, and he finds solace in the virtual company of his new “Siri” like computer system. If Scarlet Johansson’s voice kept me company after a bad breakup, I’d probably fall in love with it too. This is definitely a unique plot, but with Jonze at the helm, I’m excited for what it could be. Her hits theaters November 20th.
– Ryan
P.S. According to the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Her will be closing the NY Film Festival, which runs from September 27th-October 13th. Other films screening at the festival include Captain Phillips, the action thriller starring Tom Hanks and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which we posted last week, starring Ben Stiller.
2 Guns Was Exactly What I Expected, And That’s A Good Thing
Movies are bound to let you down. They’re billion dollar a year businesses, with most of that money coming from advertising. With those billions of dollars, movie companies are able to hire the most talented and creative people for their projects. As fans, we’re subjected to months of trailers, talk show interviews and behind the scenes featurette’s that hype each individual movie as “the next big thing”. Pessimists almost automatically disqualify the movie as a failure. Optimists, such as myself, get sucked up in the hype, and no matter how many bad reviews they read, will spend money to see that movie in the theater.
For 2 guns, the action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, Denzel Washington and (gasp) Bill Paxton, I tried a different approach: dissect the movie and the hype surrounding it with a realistic attitude. So many really good movies have been ruined because of an out of this world trailer. For example, the trailer for Superman: Man of Steel was one of the best trailer’s I’ve ever had the privilege of watching. The movie was good, but after watching the trailer 40 times, you unfairly expect a cinematic masterpiece, thus clipping it’s wings before it ever got a chance to fly.
Back to 2 Guns. When the trailer’s were first released and I heard who the 3 top billed stars were, it was almost impossible not to get sucked up in the hype. Marky Mark and Denzel as a good guy tag team against an evil Bill Paxton?! I felt like I died and went to movie heaven. Then I thought of Superman. And I remembered how a great trailer and massive hype ruined a movie I really wanted to enjoy. As I entered the theatre for 2 Guns, I was ready to watch a good/really good movie. Not a bomb, not a masterpiece. 2 hours of witty one-liners, impressive explosions and the guaranteed shot of a sexy Spanish woman’s boobs that are in every Denzel Washington movie (see Training Day, Flight, 2 Guns). That’s exactly what I got. Leaving the theater, I was glad I had realistic expectations for the film, but it still felt bittersweet. The Golden Age of Cinema is so far gone that you couldn’t see it with a telescope in your rear view mirror, but at least now I see modern movies for what they really are.
The bigger theme here, at least in my opinion, is how the once great praise we had for movies are now shifting to TV. Go anywhere in the country and you can converse with someone who feels the same way you do about Mad Men, or Breaking Bad, or Sons Of Anarchy. I doubt the same can be said about 2 Guns.
– Ryan
I Defy Anyone To Beat My Celebrity Birthday Triple Threat
A few buddies and I were at the bar last night and in between rounds of trivia we decided to look up which celebrities shared the same birthdays as us. Needless to say my triple threat blew people away. I had strangers coming up to me wanting my autograph. The waitress picked up my tab. This kind of makes me a famous person right? When you share such an important day with three icons of the silver and movie screens, a little bit of that magic rubs off on you. Johnny Depp is a stud. A perfect mix of a franchise guy and a risk taker, and one goddamn beautiful man. Natalie Portman is a fox, and one pretty talented actress. Even if I stop here, I feel pretty confident that I have most people beat in the fictional celebrity birthday competition. But my foot is on the gas and I’m cruising down the freeway, so it’s only right that the the world’s greatest human being was also born on June 9th: Michael J. Marty McFly Fox. Enormous child star and centerpiece of the greatest franchise in movie history. You think Parkinson’s is going to slow him down? He spits in Parkinson’s face and makes it say his name. Now he’s back to his roots with the Michael J. Fox Show, premiering in September. I always knew June 9th was a great day, but this just reinforces the fact that I have the best birthday ever. Anyone care to debate? Lay your top three on me, but be forewarned, I got Dick Vitale and Tedy Bruschi in my back pocket.
– Ryan
Movie Trailer Watch! – Bad Grandpa
The guys at Dickhouse Productions have done it again! From the guys who brought you the Jackass trilogy, I give you, Bad Grandpa! The trailer tells you everything you need to know about Johnny Knoxville dressing up as an old man and terrorizing America with his grandson. I swear this humor will never get old to me.
In theaters October 25th!
-MattyV
PS- That kid is going to be a star!
“American Hustle” Movie Trailer. December Movie Lineup Looks Decent
Yesterday we got a sneak peak into the new Ben Stiller movie being released on Christmas Day, and today we get the official trailer for American Hustle, the latest film from Director David O. Russell. Russell goes to his bread and butter for this crime drama, calling on Amy Adams, Christian Bale (The Fighter) Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook). Bale and Adams play con artist partners in crime forced to work the FBI (Cooper) to take down other underworld scum. Their main target: Mayor Carmine Polito, played by Jeremy Renner. An all star cast paired up with one of my favorite directors? I can’t wait for December.
– Ryan
Ryan’s Movie Alert: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, coming out on Christmas day, stars Ben Stiller, (who also directs) Kirsten Wiig and Adam Scott. Judging from the trailer and synopsis, Secret Life looks to be a fantasy comedy blend, or as I like to call it, Dodging Reality with a budget. This film is drastically different from Stiller’s other directorial features, (Tropic Thunder, Zoolander, The Cable Guy) and in my opinion, different is always good. If nothing else, this trailer peaks my interest and I’ll absolutely be seeing it in theater’s. Plus, can a film about daydreaming starring three comedy all stars really be that bad? We’ll find out on Jesus’s birthday.
– Ryan
The Cast Of The Sandlot Reunited…ON THE SANDLOT!
No big deal, just a gigantic piece of Americana right here. via ~ESPN
-MattyV
