In this morning’s roundup of movie news ‘n’ notes from around the web, dealmaking is explained, and the new Spider-Man gets a backstory.
The man of the hour, new Spider-Man Andrew Garfield, is a relative mystery to most American filmgoers, though that may change once David Fincher’s “The Social Network” is released later in the year. For now, though, Movieline fleshes out a bit of Garfield’s resume with photos and trailers from “Kid A,” the first installment of the “Red Riding” trilogy (photo below), and “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.” My overriding impression: wow, doesn’t he look awfully old to play a teenager? (Movieline)
Jane Graham considers the art of the deal, particularly the difficulties of making mid-level deals in the current climate. Her cautionary tale is full of big names (Sean Connery, John Travolta, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ricky Gervais … ) and studio misbehavior, though it’s not life-affirming reading for anybody who’s aspiring to become a dealmaker. (The Guardian)
Also for aspiring dealmakers, Schuyler Moore has a handy glossary of terms. One example: “Attached (as in, ‘Tom Hanks is attached’) means that you sent the script to the actor's agent and haven't received a rejection letter yet.” (THR, Esq.)
Lane Brown talks to M. Night Shyamalan, who claims he had no idea that all the reviewers hate “The Last Airbender.” (Somebody’s been hiding the papers, and the Internet.) He also says his process involves “immovable integrity.” (Vulture)
Steven Zeitchik considers the rules of Hollywood franchises: the second movie in a series makes more money than the first, but the third makes less than the second. He wonders if the “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” will upset the trend and outgross its predecessor, and figures that it might do just that courtesy of repeat viewers. (24 Frames)
Is the secret to Pixar’s success the fact that its films avoid the pop-culture references that often run through other animated features? Vadim Rizov spends about 400 words considering that point as he examines the animation studio with the best track record in Hollywood history – and then, in his last paragraph, he suddenly complains that people who write about Pixar only write about the company’s excellence and its avoidance of pop-culture references. (The Independent Eye)
Director Allison Anders (“Gas Food Lodging”) curates a Los Angeles-based film festival Don’t Knock the Rock, a two-month weekly compendium of obscure, bizarre and offbeat rock movies – “a high-energy festival dedicated to the love, lust and mania of all pop, rock and roots film and music.” It starts July 8 with the premiere of “The One Man Beatles,” a documentary about the long-lost ‘60s popster Emmitt Rhodes, and ends on August 26 with “Vagabondo!,” about oddball Greenwich Village folk veteran Vince Martin. In between are lots of strange, cool-sounding movies. Anders writes about it for the Truly Free Film blog, KickStarter has an intro, and Cinefamily provides the full schedule.
Bryce J. Renninger has a guide to the six July film festivals that have made indieWIRE’s list of the 50 most important film festivals. Locations range from West Hollywood to Melbourne and Galway to Sarajevo, while the fests’ focus on everything from gay and lesbian cinema (Outfest in Los Angeles) to Jewish film (the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival). (indieWIRE)
