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Brian Grazer in for Brett Ratner for the Oscars

Damon Houx — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:06:08 +0000

So, that happened. With Brett Ratner‘s recent exodus at the Oscars, and Eddie Murphy quickly jetting as well, it was hard to know how fast it would be until someone was set up with the gig. And now we know it’s Brian Grazer who will be producing the award show to end all award shows, the 84th Academy awards.

Brian Grazer is probably best known for his spiky hair, and his Imagine production company, he and Ron Howard have teamed for nearly thirty years. Most recently, Grazer produced the Clint Eastwood film J. Edgar. Grazer has his own Oscar from producing A Beautiful Mind.

Grazer seems a natural choice as a respected member of the community, though every year people complain about how boring and silly the whole thing is. There’s really no winning with the event, and likely Grazer will be one of many who’ve tried and failed to re-engergize what amounts to the world’s most famous graduation ceremony.

Many names have been thrown out as alternatives to Murphy, though Grazer has suggested he would court Murphy to come back, which wouldn’t be that much of a stretch as the two have worked together numerous times, including The Nutty Professor and Murphy’s recent Tower Heist. There is already a campaign to get The Muppets to host. We shall see.

Who would you like to have host the Oscars?

Eddie Murphy Backs Out Of Hosting The Oscars

traviswoods — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:02:47 +0000

Because his bestest buddy Brett Ratner decided to back out of producing the Oscars next year (for lobbing a an offense comment towards homosexuals, and then bragging about sex with Lindsay Lohan, and for making a ton of offensively bland films), now Eddie Murphy has also followed suit, joining his Tower Heist director in bowing out of next year’s ceremonies.

While the ousting of Brett Ratner was probably for the best, Murphy’s bow out probably isn’t exactly going to help his floundering image of “that guy who was really funny once,” nor is it going to be all that great for the audience—say what you will about Murphy these days, he’s got to be better than last year’s James Franco/ Anne Hathaway (“Isn’t the Academy just so young and hip? Make sure and tune in, you guyzzz!”) debacle.

So now The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is back at square one, with no one producing the show, nor hosting it. If I may make a humble suggestion, I’d toss in the director/ actor team of John Carpenter/ Kurt Russell into the running, if only because it would just be really badass, and Russell might wear an eyepatch and callously shoot someone Paris Hilton. You know you’d tune in for that.

What do you think of Murphy’s move?

Source: The AV Club

Brett Ratner Quits The Oscars Due To Controversy, Eddie Murphy May Follow

traviswoods — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:31:10 +0000

Remember earlier in the week when we reported that Brett Ratner slipped his foot into his mouth and stated that only “fag” directors rehearse their films before shooting? Well, on top of that, he’s been spending his Tower Heist promotional tour talking less about the film (which might be for the best) and is spending more of his time graphically describing sex with Lindsay Lohan and Olivia Munn, as well as his sperm count and sexual prowess. All of which has led the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to say, “hey, maybe this isn’t the guy to produce the Oscars next year.”

After repeatedly asserting on the Howard Stern Show that he slept with Lindsay Lohan, that he has an “insane” sperm count, and that he insists that all women he date go to a doctor and prove that they have no venereal disease before he commits to them, even Ratner realized that he wasn’t doing himself or the Academy any favors. And, with that realization, the director bowed from pressure and has removed himself from the Oscar production next year.

Ratner also wrote a long apology, and by “wrote,” I mean his team of publicists sat around with a basic Hollywood apology template, and Mad Lib’d in specific nouns like “Brett Ratner,” “LGBT community,” and “84^th Academy Awards”:

An Open Letter To The Entertainment Industry From Brett Ratner

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a well-deserved earful from many of the people I admire most in this industry expressing their outrage and disappointment over the hurtful and stupid things I said in a number of recent media appearances. To them, and to everyone I’ve hurt and offended, I’d like to apologize publicly and unreservedly.

As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments. And they pale in comparison to what any gay, lesbian, or transgender individual must deal with as they confront the many inequalities that continue to plague our world.

So many artists and craftspeople in our business are members of the LGBT community, and it pains me deeply that I may have hurt them. I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter. Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably feel that apologies are not enough, please know that I will be taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetuated.

As a first step, I called Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast. Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest moment of my career. But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.

I am grateful to GLAAD for engaging me in a dialogue about what we can do together to increase awareness of the important and troubling issues this episode has raised and I look forward to working with them. I am incredibly lucky to have a career in this business that I love with all of my heart and to be able to work alongside so many of my heroes. I deeply regret my actions and I am determined to learn from this experience.

Sincerely, Brett Ratner

And now, rumors are swirling that Ratner’s good friend Eddie Murphy might bail from the Oscars as well. Which may not be the end of the world, seeing as Murphy hasn’t been funny in over a decade.

What do you think?

Source: The AV Club

Heavy D Passes Away: 1967-2011

Damon Houx — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:52:21 +0000

Dwight Errington Myers, better known the world as Heavy D, has passed away at the age of 44. Best known for such hits songs as “Now that We Found Love” and “Nuttin’ But Love” in the heady days of “Yo MTV Raps!” Myers was known for his trademark sunglasses, and heft. Eventually he lost the weight, and became a sometime actor, appearing most recently in Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist.

Heavy D came along at the right time for rap. His size made him less threatening that gangster rappers, and he made songs that were poppy. Such may be why he created the theme songs for In Living Color and MadTV. A Respected rapper, his last ten years were mostly dedicated to acting work.

Though he had already been in a number of TV shows, 1999 was a big year, as he was in Ted Demme’s Life playing against Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, and then in 1999′s Oscar nominated The Cider House Rules. For much of the next ten years he moved on to numerous supporting roles. He bounced from big screen to small, appearing in such films as Step Up, and TV shows such as Bones. Currently the cause of death is being called respiratory issues.

What do you think of when someone says Heavy D?

‘Tower Heist’ Director Brett Ratner Insults Homosexual Community With Epithet During Speech

traviswoods — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:29:47 +0000

Oh, Brett Ratner. After doing his damndest to offend humanity and culture in general by making some of the most offensively bland films without the slightest semblance of a unique directorial style (Rush Hour parts 1-3, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Family Man, After the Sunset, Tower Heist), the hobbit-like director has decided to start offending very specific groups in particular.

Following a screening of Tower Heist in Los Angeles, Ratner told the audience that he doesn’t believe in rehearsing his cast or scenes before a shoot (which isn’t much of a shocker, having seen his films), that, quote, “rehearsing is for fags.” Aw, how charming.

As it turns out, Ratner prefers the more heterosexual method of just filming without practice or rehearsal, which has produced such cinematic gems as Rush Hour 3. It should also make for a very interesting Oscars telecast next year, as Ratner is directing those—assuming he plans on keeping the broadcast totally heterosexual, it will be a wild and unrehearsed three-hour schmoozefest.

Since making the statement, Ratner has spoken to The Wrap:

“I apologize for any offense my remarks caused. It was a dumb way of expressing myself. Everyone who knows me knows that I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body. But as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words.”

What’s more offensive—that Ratner insulted the homosexual community, or that he tried to claim that he’s an actual storyteller?

What do you think of the Ratner comment?
Source: The AV Club

Tower Heist to hit VOD Three Weeks After Theatrical Release

Damon Houx — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 22:23:35 +0000

The L.A. Times has a story about how Tower Heist, the Brett Ratner-directed, Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy comedy will be hitting VOD in two markets for $60 a pop three weeks after it hits theaters. We recently wrote about how 8 Ways Television has changed, and this may be a part of that evolution. But what does this mean for theatrical distribution?

Likely little. Tower Heist just hit tracking, and is not tracking as well as the same weekend’s A Very Harold and Kumar 3-D Christmas. This VOD release is an experiment to see if the higher price point might get people, but only after the film has made the majority of its theatrical revenue (the first three weeks are where the majority of films make their money these days). This also puts Universal in a position where exhibitors may make an effort to not help the film. If you have a ten screen theater, and you’re playing the film, there’s no guarantee that the film will be playing on the biggest or best screen simply because it’s a new release, and if there is a concerted effort to damage the film, it may under-perform because of this stunt.

Currently this is being tested in two markets. Perhaps it’s being done to fail. That said, The Human Centipede showed that a film can hit VOD and theatrical and perform exceptionally well in both, with VOD more profitable. That was a smaller release, where the budget of Tower Heist must be at least $100 Million, and with a sixty dollar price point, that would take families or large groups to make it somewhat cheaper than going to the multi-plex. It seems unlikely that two million such groups will rent this on VOD, but the door is now open.

Do you think VOD windows will get smaller?

Eddie Murphy to Host The Oscars

Damon Houx — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:49:49 +0000

Brett Ratner is producing the next Oscar telecast. Brett Ratner just directed Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy in Tower Heist, and has been the rumored choice for a Beverly Hills Cop 4 movie. So perhaps it’s no surprise that Ratner asked Murphy to host the Academy Awards. The surprise is that Murphy has said yes (according to Deadline Hollywood).

Murphy’s career started in stand-up and sketch comedy, having broken into the mainstream on Saturday Night Live as one of the few consistently funny performers during the show’s biggest off years. He leapfrogged into movies, and quickly became the biggest star in America with a string of hit films. And such is why – since the 1987 release of a concert film called Eddie Murphy Raw – Murphy hasn’t been doing a lot of stand-up. That’s one of the most interesting parts of this decision, it’s a skill-set he seemingly abandoned. Having grown up in the 1980′s, most kids had his comedy albums memorized, though much of his humor was profanity-laced, inappropriate and now politically incorrect (Murphy had at least twenty minutes of material dedicated to homosexuals). So regardless if he has to change his tone or character a little, Murphy returning to that form is exciting and must be a bit daunting for an artist who hasn’t spent much of the last two decades challenging himself artistically.

The other fascinating aspect about this is that Murphy famously walked out of the ceremony when he lost best supporting actor to Alan Arkin in 2006. And then also: What if Tower Heist bombs? And what will Brett Ratner do with (and quite possibly to) the Oscars? And can it be better or worse than the dullish three hour ceremonies of the last couple years? All I know is that for the first time in a long time I honestly want to watch now.

Can you recite any of Eddie Murphy’s old routines?

Brett Ratner Apologizes For Eddie Murphy’s ‘Tower Heist’ Epileptic Joke

traviswoods — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:47:39 +0000

Update: Looks like Brett Ratner has selected Eddie Murphy as the host for the next Academy Awards broadcast!

As we reported in July, the trailer for the Brett Ratner directed, Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller-starring heist film Tower Heist has been released, and it features many things—Eddie Murphy seems to be at least kind of trying to be funny again, it also stars Casey Affleck (which is odd, since the film appears to be a total rip off of the Ocean’s trilogy, also starring… Casey Affleck), and that Brett Ratner is once again helming a picture with the totally faceless, directed-by-studio-committee direction that he brought to such not-good films as Red Dragon, the Rush Hour series, and X-Men 3: Seriously Can You Believe How Bad We Screwed This Franchise Up With This One?. And it appears that the trailer features one other thing—an offensive remark about epileptics.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Tower Heist director Brett Ratner has apologized for a joke about epilepsy that was included in the trailer for his upcoming action-comedy, which stars Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller.

The apology comes after actor Greg Grunberg, whose 15-year-old son Jake has epilepsy, called for a boycott last week.

To make things clear, in the film, Murphy refers to Stiller’s character as “little seizure boy.” The comment prompted the Lost, Heroes and Love Bites actor Grunberg, “whose 15-year-old son Jake has epilepsy,” to boycott the film and tweet the following:

“TERRIBLY OFFENSIVE TRAILER for #TowerHeist – Making fun @ people w/ seizures is NOT FUNNY & WRONG! “Seizure Boy!” REALLY? #Boycott RT.”

Ratner quickly responded with, “I am so sorry you are offended. … I sincerely feel bad,” which then led to Grunberg retracting his boycott, and declared Tower Heist a “hilarious film”—though he did then later tell ABC News that the joke was “irresponsible, ignorant and not funny.”

So there you have—Brett Ratner finally managed to create something more offensive than just his bland direction.

What do you think of the epilepsy comment in the film?

Tower Heist Trailer Looks Like a Con Job

Damon Houx — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:08:20 +0000

The Heist movie genre is filled with a number of great films, and usually a solid premise. Enacting a plan and following through – regardless of the unforseen complications – is inherently gripping, whether it’s perpetrated by heroes or anti-heroes. But Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Michael Pena, Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe and Eddie Murphy in the Tower Heist looks like heroes, and Alan Alda looks a fairly repellent bad guy with a big safe. Well, the real bad guy may be director Brett Ratner if he blows a great cast and what appears to be the best material he’s worked with. Take a look at the trailer…

It’s nice to see Eddie Murphy at least awake in a film, though this sort of role is the thing that made him famous thirty years ago. Yeah, thirty years ago, and him doing a variation on his character from 48 hrs is both a return to form, and a little dangerous if he’s not as good at it as he once was. He seems to be in high energy mode, which is good, though if the schtick is tired, it’s tired. But the premise is there, rich banker screws up his underlings pensions, and they get revenge. Great start. And great cast.

The question is Brett Ratner, who’s very hit and miss as a filmmaker. He made his name on the Rush Hour franchise, but his other films have shown someone who’s good at mimicking other work, but generally are less than the sum of their parts (X-Men 3, Red Dragon). When the third Rush Hour underperformed, Ratner’s been perilously close to director jail. But this is a high-concept actor-friendly piece, and as long as there’s a good script, it could be great. The film opens November 4.

Do you like Brett Ratner?

Eddie Murphy Joins Tower Heist With Ben Stiller

Krystal Clark — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:17:45 +0000

Has Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller ever acted in a movie together? We’re not sure if it’s been done, but if not the duo will star opposite each other in the comedy, Tower Heist. Do you know what a project like this needs? How about a little Brett Ratner? According to Deadline, the actors will headline the film that’s being directed by Ratner for Universal.

Tower Heist centers on “operations and maintenance workers in a luxury Manhattan high-rise whose pension funds were looted by a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook, who is living high style in a penthouse apartment, under house arrest. Led by an overworked building manager (Stiller), the workers use their knowledge of the inner workings of the building to rip him off.”

Murphy will star and executive produce the film along with Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment. The actor has been attached (on and off) to the project dating back to when it was originally called Trump Heist, which was set up as an African American version of Ocean’s Eleven.

Tower Heist will also star Alan Alda as the rich, Wall Street crook who gets taken by the workers. Cross your fingers that this movie turns out to be good. Murphy needs a hit that’s not Shrek-related. We know the Beverly Hills Cop and 48 Hours Eddie we all know and love is still in there!

Tower Heist is slated to hit theaters on November 4, 2011.

What do you think of Stiller and Murphy teaming up for Tower Heist?

Brett Ratner to Direct Hercules?

Krystal Clark — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:53:32 +0000

There’s already plenty of skepticism surrounding Marcus Nispel’s adaptation of Conan the Barbarian, so do we really need another meat-head property on the big screen? According to several reports Brett Ratner (“The Rat”) might direct a film based on the legendary hero, Hercules. As in the brawny half-god, half-man who barely wears clothing and is really, really strong.

The Los Angeles Times claims that Ratner’s interested in taking on the Herculean task of directing Avi Lerner’s long developing hero movie now that Conan is well into production. The producer has been working on the film for over 3 years and he’s ready to kick it into high gear. There aren’t any specifics about the plot, the locations, and definitely not its casting so we’re not sure if this is a rumor or the real deal.

If the Times are reporting on it there has to be some truth to it, but the fact that it’s been in development for so long and they don’t know the basic premise is worrisome. Next to 3D films, sword-and-sandal epics seem to be all the rage thanks to features like Clash of the Titans, which made nearly half a billion dollars worldwide.

The question is, could Ratner do the film justice? I officially stopped giving him the benefit of the doubt after X-Men: The Last Stand so if he does direct Hercules, I’ll be sitting that one out.

Do you think Ratner would do a good job with Hercules?

Brett Ratner to Ruin Your Childhood With Edgy Snow White

Krystal Clark — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:23:19 +0000

If you’re still fuming over the travesty that was X-Men 3: The Last Stand, director Brett Ratner isn’t done raping your childhood just yet. It seems that the success of Disney’s reimagined Alice in Wonderland has caused a domino effect that has people wanting to see darker incarnations of their favorite characters. So who’s the next victim on the list? Snow White!

I’ll admit Snow White has never been one of my favorite stories because she bored be to tears but that was her shtick. She was pure and innocent and all that jazz. According to Deadline, Ratner wants to take that cool and calm demeanor and step it up a notch.

Relativity Media has recently acquired a new take on Snow White and Ratner is on board as one of its executive producers. The screenplay has been written by Melisa Wallack and is a 3D adaptation of the fabled character.

“This is not your grandfather’s Snow White,” Ratner said. “Melisa went back to the 500 year old folk tale and put in some of the things that were missing from Walt Disney’s film. His dwarves were miners, and here they are robbers. There is also a dragon that was in the original folk tale. Walt made one of the great movies of all time, but ours is edgy and there is more comedy. The original, made for its time, was soft compared to what we’re going to do.”

The Seven Dwarves sound like gang members who shouldn’t be trusted. If that’s the case, I don’t even want to know what’s going to happen when they stumble upon Snow White. Also, will she be a punk rock chick or will this version still take place in a land far, far away?

What do you think of Ratner’s concept for the new Snow White?

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