|
Watchers Watch
Homepage Film Releases RSS Feed Categories Action Awards Broadcast Journalism Box Office Children's Comedy Documentary Downloads Drama DVDs Fantasy/SF Horror Industry News Movie Trailers Movies Music Mystery/Suspense Nature/Science Reality TV Sports Talk Shows TV Videos War Writers' Strike      
|
War Movies and TV Shows | Homepage
Robert Redford to Direct Film Based on Richard Clarke's Memoir  The Hollywood Reporter reports that Robert Redford will be directing a film based on Richard A. Clarke's bestseller Against All Enemies.
Capitol Films is financing the feature, picking up the project from Columbia, which had put it into turnaround.The Hollywood Reporter says Paul Haggis was originally expected to direct the film but he turned his attention to In the Valley of Elah. Robert Redford directed and stars in the Lions for Lambs thriller which will be in theaters November 9th. Richard A. Clarke has turned to fiction following his bestselling memoir. Posted on September 27, 2007 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) |  Jack Bauer is set to tackle
global warming on the hit show 24.
But the producers of 24, the American thriller, plan to make the show "carbon neutral" to "inspire its millions of viewers before it's too late". To promote the message, they are planning to tie global warming issues into the plots - which have included state-sanctioned torture and presidential assassination attempts - "when appropriate". Kiefer Sutherland, who plays the counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer, said that global warming was "a crime for which we are all guilty". The actor added: "All of us at 24 understand the urgency of this problem and over the next year we will be implementing creative new ways to more efficiently produce our show and significantly reduce our carbon footprint. "If we don't do something about it now, this change in our climate will unleash irreversible damage."That should be interesting. We would love nothing more than to watch the episode where Jack and company waterboard a bunch of corporate polluters. Posted on August 8, 2007 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | Tom Cruise is Claus von Stauffenberg  Well, this is downright eerie. On the left is the historical figure Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the aristocratic German officer who led the daring "July 20" plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. On the right is none other than Tom Cruise who is portraying Stauffenberg in the thriller Valkyrie. The movie is filming in Germany now, much to the fury of von Stauffenberg's family, who absolutely detest Tom Cruise because of his Scientology ties. Doesn't Cruise look like Von Stauffenberg? He's the spitting image. Posted on July 26, 2007 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | For those of you keeping score, Germany appears to be ahead in the ongoing match between the former Weimar Republic and Scientologist Tom Cruise. Cruise wants to film his World War II epic, Valkyrie in Berlin, in various official government buildings. The grandson of the man whom Cruise will portray in the film is furious that Cruise is desecrating the memory of his father, a hero who tried his best to assassinate Hitler. Germany first banned Cruise from making the film at all because he's part of Scientology, because it is a banned cult. But now, he can make the film in Germany, but won't be allowed to film in any official buildings. Got all that? After considerable confusion about whether or not the pic would be granted the necessary permits, and the role Cruise's high-profile association with the Church of Scientology was playing in the decision, the Finance Ministry has declined producers of the film permission to shoot at a Defense Ministry building where German officer Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, played by Cruise in the film, was executed for attempting to assassinate Adolf Hitler.Cruise is soldiering on with the project. No doubt they will just recreate the Bendlerblock building with CGI. Or they could shoot the exteriors in Berlin and the interiors on a sound stage. Or, the German Finance Ministry spokesman might suddenly convert to Scientology and approvals to film anywhere Tom wants will mysteriously appear. It could happen. Posted on July 3, 2007 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | Jericho Returns From the Dead The apocalyptic drama Jericho has experienced a miracle: it's returned from the dead. Yes, a fan campaign to save the show actually worked and the doomsday drama is coming back. After much fanfare-intense viewer support that came in the form of letters, petitions and lots of nuts delivered to CBS headquarters, network executives have re-grouped and decided to give the Skeet Ulrich-led drama a second chance. On Wednesday, CBS President of Entertainment Nina Tassler ordered seven episodes of the series to air sometime in mid-season, crediting the fervent cancellation protest as "creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone."Nuts, indeed. But our favorite save the show campaign was the La Femme Nikita campaign in which fans sent boxes of sunglasses to the network (Nikita always wore lots of different, cool-looking sunglasses). Network execs are no doubt worried about what bizarre item from a canceled show will be arriving next. Posted on June 6, 2007 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | The family of a World War II German office who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler is very unhappy about the casting of Tom Cruise in a film about the plot. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a Wehrmacht colonel who tried to assassinate Hitler, but the plot failed. He was later exectued, but is stil considered a hero for trying to stop the dictator. His descendants are worried that Cruise will use the story to spread propaganda about his Scientology beliefs. Born into an aristocratic Bavarian family, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was the Wehrmacht colonel behind the July 20 plot to kill the Führer in 1944. The German officer placed a bomb in a suitcase under a table at a meeting Hitler was attending. The bomb detonated but was not strong enough to kill the German leader, although four members of his inner circle died in the blast. Von Stauffenberg was subsequently caught and executed.Count von Stauffenberg may not be far off in his predictions. According to recent report in Speigel magazine, the Church of Scientology has launched a huge campaign to convert lots of Germans to the cause. It has built a huge headquarters in Berlin, which is really freaking out the German government which considers Scientology an anti-Democratic cult. Posted on March 29, 2007 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | 300 Rules the Box Office Once Again For the second week in a row, 300 ruled the box office, taking in another $32,877,328. That puts the total take so far at a mind-boggling $129,165,656, on a $65 million budget. In second place was Wild Hogs, which made another $19,058,871. Sandra Bullock's new paranormal thriller, Premonition, opened in third place making $17,558,689. In fourth place was horror flick Dead Silence which made $7,842,725. Also opening last weekend was Chris Rock's I Think I Love My Wife, which came in at fifth place, making $5,674,802. The consensus from critics was that the film was not funny in the least, and that Critics Think They Didn't Love the Film. Posted on March 19, 2007 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | 300 Rules the Box Office  The cgi gorefest The 300 easily won the weekend box office this past weekend
making $70,885,301. The movie, which is rated R for violence, has a cast of virtual unknowns (although the freaky Persian King Xerxes will be familiar to Lost fans). The film is a based on a comic book fantasy which tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., in which 300 noble Spartans held off the massive Persian army at a mountain pass in Greece for three days. The Iranians are furious about the film, saying it portrays the Persians as sexually deviant, violent and depraved. But since the Iranian censors pretty much object to all Western films, it's hard to get too worked up over their latest denouncements. In any event, the box office numbers were a delightful surprise to Warner Bros.
In second place was Wild Hogs, which made 27,601,291 in its second week of release. In third place was Bridge to Terabithia, which made $6,779,315 in its fourth week of release. Ghost Rider made another $6,670,463 in its fourth week of release, and Zodiac made $6,641,870 in its fourth week of release. Posted on March 13, 2007 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | Storm Clouds Send Jericho Residents Underground  Jericho improved in episode #2 even though the overall premise
got more depressing. We watched as Jericho residents took refuge from
an incoming storm. Did the rain in the storm contain radiation as the
town's residents feared? We won't find out until next week but we
watched as some of them used duct tape and plastic sheeting to board
their windows -- Chertoff would be so proud!
We checked the Homeland Security website's page about nuclear explosions. We didn't see anything about radiation being contained in rain, but the website does have some tips for how to protect yourself. It says there are three protective factors: distance, shielding, and time. Distance - the more distance between you and the fallout particles, the better. An underground area such as a home or office building basement offers more protection than the first floor of a building. A floor near the middle of a high-rise may be better, depending on what is nearby at that level on which significant fallout particles would collect. Flat roofs collect fallout particles so the top floor is not a good choice, nor is a floor adjacent to a neighboring flat roof.It sounds like the residents of Jericho are doing the right thing by going down into the shelters for protection. Collapsing the entrance to the mine should also offer radiation protection. Even so, two weeks will be a long time to stay buried in the mine field. We hope they have enough to eat and drink. We were glad to see Robert Hawkins featured more prominently in episode #2. Once again he had all the answers. His wife even said aloud, "you always know what's going on." Of course he knew. It did get depressing there in the end when Hawkins was pressing red thumbtacks onto a map of the United States to indicate the cities that had been hit. Apparently, the message he received using the ham radio was very informative. Overall, Jericho was much better this week. The pace was much quicker and there were some great action sequences. We will tune in again. The website includes a webisode, called Beyond Jericho, of some survivors in an urban area that is not Jericho. The webisode features two kidnappers and their slightly annoying blonde victim. We won't spoil it for you except to say it is clear that the relationship between kidnapper and kidnappee can change very quickly. In the TV.com forums some people are saying they have removed the Beyond Jericho webisode. Hopefully, it will return later. Our review of the premiere episode can be found here. Posted on September 28, 2006 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | Jericho Depresses Everyone  Jericho is a new series from CBS about people living in a small town in Kansas who see a nuclear explosion off in the distance. In the first episode we learn that the nuclear explosion occured in Denver. We watch as traffic accidents unfold from people staring at the mushroom cloud. We see the citizens of Jericho start to panic just a few hours into their new post-apocalyptic world. Next week, Jericho residents dig into their stock of duct tape to protect themselves from radioactive fallout.
Reviewers are comparing Jericho to Lost, but most say Jericho falls far short of Lost's appeal. The Boston Globe accuses Jericho of having Lost-envy. Unfortunately, there is no twist here. There is no alternative reality. There is no Truman Show being pulled on the residents of Jericho. And there are certainly no actors who look as good as a shirtless Josh Holloway or a bikini-clad Evangeline Lilly. They are just ordinary folks from a small town being led into a horrible, depressing apocalyptic nightmare. If only they would have included some of the fantastical themes in Lost instead of this depressing and hopeless backdrop. The characters in Lost have a civilization they hope to return to. The characters in Jericho have little hope at all -- civilization as they knew it is probably gone and things are going to be getting worse every day. The grocery trucks aren't going to be showing up anymore with food. The lights aren't working. There will be no more medicine. The only character that has the potential to save the town (and the show) is Robert Hawkins, played by Lennie James. Hawkins is a savvy cop from Saint Louis who appears to have the screenplay in his back pocket as he foreshadows bad things before they happen. Unfortunately, we may not get to see much more of Robert Hawkins or Jericho. TV critics here and here are already forecasting that Jericho will be canceled. The Brilliant but Cancelled website is taking a poll to see which shows will be terminated in 2006. Maybe a Save Jericho website or two will pop up, but don't hold your breath. We'd write more about Jericho, but we're feeling kind of down in the dumps. You know, filled with ennui and sort of overcome by the hopelessness of it all. We can't wait until next week's show! Posted on September 20, 2006 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | Army Warns That HBO's Baghdad ER Is Really Graphic 
The new HBO Iraq War documentary, Baghdad ER, has
prompted the U.S. Army to issue a warning to military personnel and their families about the film. The Army noted that the series might cause mental problems because of its realistic and graphic portrayal of an ER hospital in Baghdad.
Army brass have sent a cautionary warning to military medical personnel about the soon-to-be-aired HBO documentary "Baghdad ER," which gives a graphic view of the Iraq war through the eyes of trauma doctors and nurses, even filming during an amputation. Despite many disturbing scenes, filmmaker Jon Alpert said the film had actually been toned down. "Some of the real raw scenes were just a little bit too brutal. My first two days there, I witnessed four amputations," said Alpert.The website for the documentary is here. Posted on May 16, 2006 Permalink | Subscribe | | | Comments (View) | |
|
www.watcherswatch.com
Copyright © 2003-2010 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved.