We get so used to see Hollywood stars like Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Keira Knightley on the big screen that sometimes we forget that they actually take their acting abilities and apply them… on stage! Seems like they’re doing well because all of the above mentioned celebs along with James Earl Jones and Melanie Chisholm aka Mel C of the Spice Girls, were among the nominees listed for Britain’s Laurence Olivier theater awards.

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Although it brings a tear (of joy) to my eye to see the box office king, Avatar be beaten by a chick-flick… I wish it was by something a bit more substantial. Sadly it had it’s ass whooped by Dear John, the not as great remake to The Notebook aka a sappy romance for 13 year-olds (why do all the adolescents get the love stories nowadays?).

Despite all of Lion’s Gates best efforts, From Paris with Love only managed to come in at #3 and make back about 15% on what they cost to make it… ouch. Apparently people don’t want to see John Travolta as another crazy terrorist with a shaved head.

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Being and knowing many indie filmmakers going into Sundance, I thought the same thing as everyone else, “they said they were going back to their roots but if so, why do so many of these films star celebrities? How the hell is the Indie filmmaker supposed to have a chance?” After being there, I learned that nothing is that simple. When studios no longer support filmmaking and technology gets to the point where you can make big films for little, things are bound to change, but we are not left without hope or quality films…

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In the midst of the all the script problems, sequel rumors, director swaps, and uncertainty of the Spider-Man franchise, it was briefly rumored that Wes Anderson may take over the franchise. I don’t think anyone really bought the rumor, but someone online (bless um) decided to take the gobbledygook and run with it and give us a brief glimpse of what Spider-Man would look like if Anderson directed it.

Whether you’re a fan of Anderson’s or not, it’s quite obvious that he’s not the man for the job, unless they were looking to take it in a completely new, indie direction. Something tells me that Sony is far more interested in the green side of Spider-Man than the emo-hip side. But that doesn’t mean we can’t ponder what would have happened if they did!

Check out the “pussification” of Spider-Man below…

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Want your kid to star across from Hugh Jackman in the upcoming DreamWorks film? Now is your chance to scar you child, I mean give your child the opportunity of a lifetime. The studio has just launched a nationwide casting search to fill a lead role in its upcoming movie Real Steel.

Actors interested in the role have two ways to audition. Beginning immediately, individuals can submit a videotaped audition through www.realsteelcasting.com or you can show up and audition in person on Sunday, February 14, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois and then on Saturday, February 20, 2010 in New York, New York. No acting experience is necessary for interested actors, nor are they required to prepare anything for the audition.

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SXSW has officially released the full lineup of films for their 2010 festival and it looks like we’re all in for a real treat. Headlining the way are many upcoming favorites including Cyrus (Review, Mark Duplas Interview) which was a huge success at Sundance, Get Low, Micmacs / Micmacs à tire-larigot, MacGruber, The Runaways (Review), Mr. Nice, and the much anticipated film that many people including myself will be traveling to Texas for, Kick-Ass.

Check out the full list of films that are going to be at the fest below…

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Something about this just makes everything so much clearer! If you’re like me, you often get lost in Lost, which I know is part of the point, but sometimes it’s helpful when an Italian family in Jersey decides to recap everything for us in a succinct 5 minute video — like they do. Many of you have already watched the premiere of Lost and despite all the complaints about the series being too confusing and the premiere being (gasp) three hours long, everyone seems to have enjoyed it. Who knows maybe I’ll tune back in this season – until then, you’re best following Krystal, I personally enjoy the recaps more…

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Written, directed, and starring Josh Radnor (CBS’s How I Met Your Mother), happythankyoumoreplease is your standard romantic comedy with a bit of an edge. While watching this movie if you’re a guy you’ll think that all the women are over-emotional, if you’re a women you’ll think all the men are idiots, in other words the film is stereotypically true to life. Starring Malin Akerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Pablo Schreiber and Tony Hale, the film is slightly more intelligent, real, and honest depiction of a romantic comedy — although it’s not completely free of cliches, it is an intelligent film for it’s genre.

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When you’re watching documentary after documentary, at the Sundance Film Festival, it seems like all these different filmmakers are trying to shock you into believing them. From the makers of An Inconvenient Truth, Davis Guggenheim and Leslie Chilcott comes Waiting for Superman, a documentary that isn’t filled with violence or horrifying images, but an important message: How can we solve all the other problems in the world — pollution, corruption, murder — when we can’t even come up with a system to properly educate future generations? At first the problem may seem simple, get better teachers, pay them more! But like many things, the education system is so wrapped up in politics that it seems to have lost its focus: the children.

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