Drillbit Taylor

Drillbit Taylor or known as Drillbit Taylor: Budget Bodyguard is a 2008 comedy film starring Owen Wilson as the title character and based on an original idea by John Hughes. Paramount Pictures released the film on March 21, 2008.

Two boys, chubby Ryan (Troy Gentile) and skinny Wade (Nate Hartley), are preparing for their first day of high school. Things start badly when the pair arrive at school wearing the same shirt, and get worse when Wade sticks up for a smaller fellow geek, Emmett, (David Dorfman) who is being shoved into a locker by bullies Filkins (Alex Frost) and Ronnie (Josh Peck). The sadistic (and Hannibal Lecter-like) Filkins makes it his mission to haze and humiliate the three at every chance. The trio complain to the principal (Stephen Root), but their concerns fall upon deaf ears. Filkins is furious that the boys have squealed on him, and the hazing gets worse. Wade suggests to his friends that they pool their money together to hire a bodyguard who can protect them. They place an ad on the Internet, and select Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson) out of several candidates, mainly because he is the cheapest. Taylor pretends to be a martial arts master and mercenary, but in reality he is just a homeless man who sleeps under a picnic table, showers on a public beach overlooking the highway, and eats out of a dumpster. His real intention of becoming their bodyguard is to rob them and get enough money to go to Canada and start living there. When he shows up in a “borrowed” suit at the boys’ school, he is taken by the school staff to be a substitute teacher, falls in love with a pretty teacher (Leslie Mann), and decides to actually start working as such. He starts really liking the boys and decides to try to really defend them, and teach them also to defend themselves. After Taylor’s criminal friends steal a lot from Wade’s house, Taylor fights them and returns everything to the house.

However, Filkins soon finds out from Ronnie (whose mom gave Taylor money) about Taylor’s identity and punches him. Taylor is forced to confess to the boys that his real name is Bob and he went A.W.O.L. from the U.S. Army after a few days of service. The trio fire him and demand their stuff back. The parents soon find out and take things up with the principal. As a result, Taylor is a wanted man and things with Filkins are still not settled. After a confrontation with Filkins, who spoiled Wade’s chance to ask out Brooke (Valerie Tian), an Asian girl who he met on day one, Ryan and Wade, who have gained self-confidence, challenge Filkins to a fight. He agrees if they come to his house for the fight (Filkins is an emancipated minor and owns his own house, which is why they couldn’t call his parents). During the fight Emmett (who previously abandoned Ryan and Wade) shows up for the last part of the fight delivering many small punches to Filkins’ leg. Drillbit shows up and continues to take punches from Filkins until he finds out that Filkins is no longer a minor, after which Drillbit displays considerable skill and beats him up. During the group’s celebration, the police show up and Drillbit, a U.S. Army deserter, is forced to flee. Filkins runs out with a samurai sword and throws it at Ryan, Wade and Emmett, which Drillbit stops just in time by catching it (giving him a gash on his hand and severing his pinky). Filkins is then arrested and taken back to his parents in Hong Kong, and Drillbit taken to the hospital, then prison. Three weeks later, Taylor is out of prison and celebrating with his new friends and new girlfriend Lisa.

Kung Fu Panda

 

Kung Fu Panda is an animated film about a panda who learns martial arts and then uses this new ability to fight his enemies. Kung Fu Panda is being directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by Melissa Cobb. The idea for the film was conceived by Michael Lachance, a DreamWorks Animation executive. The film premiered at the 61st Cannes Film Festival. The film is due for US release on June 6 and UK release on 4 July 2008. It will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

The film stars the voices of, among others, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Ian McShane.

This film has been rated PG by the MPAA for sequences of martial arts action. The film was also rated PG by the BBFC.

The movie opens up with the main character Po (Jack Black), a giant panda having a kung fu themed dream. The dream concludes with the outlines of the five masters bowing to him just as his father, a crane yells for him to come to work. Po falls down the several flights of stairs from his room to the kitchen of a noodle shop run by his father, who inherited it from his father, who won it from a pig in a game of rummy. It is then he hears that today is the day that the dragon warrior will be chosen to defeat the evil snow leopard. Po is commically and “accidentally” chosen by the grand master as the one who is to be the dragon warrior.

Cast

Actor	Role	Animal
Jack Black	Po	Giant Panda
Jackie Chan	Master Monkey	Monkey
Dustin Hoffman	Shifu	Red Panda
Angelina Jolie	Master Tigress	South China Tiger
Lucy Liu	Master Viper	Viper
Seth Rogen	Master Mantis	Praying Mantis
David Cross	Master Crane	Japanese Crane
Ian McShane	Tai Lung	Snow Leopard
Michael Clarke Duncan	Commander Vachir	Javan Rhinoceros
James Hong	Mr. Ping	Goose
Dan Fogler	Zeng	Palace Goose
Randall Duk Kim	Oogway	Tortoise

Two additional voices were provided by winners of a Nickelodeon competition

 

 

Wanted

Wanted is a 2008 film loosely based on the comic book miniseries Wanted by Mark Millar. The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Konstantin Khabensky and Angelina Jolie. Production began in April 2007. Wanted has a target release date of June 27, 2008.

Production

The comic book miniseries Wanted by Mark Millar first attracted the attention of Universal Studios executive Jeff Kirschenbaum, a comic book fan who sought a film adaptation that would be considered a “hard-R” and encouraged the studio to pick up the rights to the miniseries. By 2004, producer Marc Platt set up development of the film adaptation. In December 2005, Russian director Timur Bekmambetov was attached to helm the project as his first English-language film, with the script being written by Derek Haas and Michael Brandt. Millar did not like the first draft of the script. He explained, “I wanted the film to basically be the opposite of the Spider-Man movie, the idea of someone getting powers and realizing they can do what they want, then choosing the dark path. The [script] I read was just too tame. It just seemed a little bit Americanized. But Timur came in with his Eastern European madness, and he really made it nasty. He went closer to the spirit of the book.”

Director Timur Bekmambetov said that the film would keep the same characters from the miniseries, though the director would take liberty in adapting the comic book’s world. In July 2006, screenwriter Chris Morgan was hired to revise the third act of the Wanted script written by Haas and Brandt.^[17] The script was also rewritten by screenwriter Dean Georgaris to include the role of The Fox for actress Angelina Jolie.^[3] Haas and Brandt returned to even out the character of Wesley Gibson, which they had established in their first draft.^[18]

Comic book author Mark Millar described the first half of the film as being close to the graphic novel. Millar also said that the film’s ending was similar, though it was relocated elsewhere from the setting in the graphic novel. The superhero costumes in the graphic novel were also removed, with the exception of the leather attire worn by Wesley Gibson and The Fox. Ironically, this had been Millar’s intent when writing the graphic novel, although he and artist J. G. Jones had forgotten to. “I wanted them to have those powers and then just wear those costumes for the initiation, but just for one panel.” he said. “And then I forgot. I’d have liked [the filmmakers] to keep the supervillain mythos. That’s one thing I’m kind of sad they didn’t keep, ’cause I really liked that, the idea that supervillains and heroes did exist at one point and they’re all gone now.”^[15] The story arc of the Fates issuing death orders in line with the novel’s original theme of predestination was a new element to the film, an addition to which Millar was amicable.^[19]

Wanted will include free running and parkour in addition to car chases and gunfights. Wanted creator Mark Millar saw previsualized footage for the film and said the footage had raised his expectations for the film adaptation. The film will be the first to use the Red One digital camera, a new tool that has gained interest among cinematographers.

Location plate shooting took place in Chicago in April 2007. Several chase scenes, including one with a low flying helicopter, were shot in Chicago on May 17 and 18 on Wacker Drive along the Chicago River, between Columbus Drive and LaSalle Street. Production moved to the Czech Republic later in May, scheduled for 12 weeks of shooting. For the film, production designer John Myhre constructed a large textile factory in Prague as part of an industrial world, the setting of a mythological environment in which looms create fabrics interwoven with the destinies of people, interpreted by weavers to issue orders for specific individuals’ deaths to preserve the balance of the world.^[4] Afterward, filming moved to Budapest, then returned to Chicago in August.

Street Kings

Street Kings (originally titled The Night Watchman) is an upcoming 2008 film. The screenplay is written by notedauthors James Ellroy and John Ridley; the film is directed by David Ayer. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie andForest Whitaker. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 11, 2008.

 

In 2004, it was announced that Spike Lee would be directing the film for a 2005 release. In 2005, it was announced thatOliver Stone was in talks to direct the film. But Stone later denied this. Training Day writer David Ayer took over the project. So far Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Terry Crews, Common, Jay Mohr, The Game, Keanu Reeves, and Naomie Harris have been confirmed roles in the movie.

On February 5, 2008, it was announced that Fox Searchlight Pictures changed the film’s title from The Night Watchmanto Street Kings.

Plot

Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a Los Angeles cop who has spent his life never having had to reach across the abyss from his world to the other. Ludlow’s life, however, becomes cheerless, dark and deadly, after the death of his beloved wife. Ludlow is pressed into action when he is framed for the murder of a fellow officer by those close to him. Deeper and more profound themes are interwoven in this story of a man’s struggle for meaning in a world that is increasingly controlled by outside forces.

 

Vantage Point

Vantage Point is a 2008 thriller film, written by Barry Levy and directed by Pete Travis. It stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker with Sigourney Weaver andWilliam Hurt. It was released on February 22, 2008. The film is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images, and brief strong language. 

The film is set in Salamanca, Spain, but it was filmed in Mexico, even though some of the scenes were shot in that city. The United States President Henry Ashton (William Hurt) is holding an anti-terrorism summit in Salamanca. Over a twenty-three-minute period, an assassination attempt on the President unfolds. The film loops through this period over and over, each time from the perspective of a different participant, adding a new piece to the larger puzzle with each loop.

 

Rex Brook’s perspective

The first perspective is that of television news producer Rex Brooks (Sigourney Weaver) who directs various “GNN” cameramen and news anchors as the “President” arrives. Actually, unknown to the public and GNN, and initially to the film audience, it is a body double of the president. Just as the mayor of Salamanca finishes his speech and the “President” steps up to the podium, he is shot twice. An explosion in the distance soon follows, and a few minutes later the podium is destroyed by another explosion. Their perspective ends as their news reporter lies dead in front of the camera.

 

Thomas Barnes’ perspective

The second perspective is that of Secret Service agents Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox). While the mayor is speaking, Barnes notices a moving curtain in a nearby building. Agents sent to investigate find a fan that they report had been left on. Barnes also spots a man with a video camera in the crowd. After the “president” is shot, he tackles a man rushing the podium, who is then dragged off by other agents. Barnes and Taylor run up to the man they saw earlier and Barnes insists on viewing the footage on the video camera. Barnes is fairly sure that he spotted the shooter in one of the windows and the man thinks he might have caught the assassin on film. Taylor announces his intentions to go after the assassin. Barnes wants to come with, but Taylor tells Barnes to stay in order to avoid being blamed for failing to spot the assassin in time. Taylor goes off in pursuit as Barnes continues to review the footage. He sees something that alerts him to a probable bomb under the podium and starts running but is too late to alert anyone. Once the podium is destroyed, Barnes catches sight of a GNN cameraman fleeing the destruction, and heads for their van to get a better idea of what happened. He barges into the mobile production room and orders Brooks to show him their footage. While they are rewinding the film, Barnes talks to Taylor, who reports being in hot pursuit of the suspect and in need of immediate assistance. Barnes attempts to reach Control, the Secret Service temporary command center’s call sign, but does not get a response. His perspective ends when he catches sight of something shocking on one of the live feeds.

 

Enrique’s perspective

 

This is followed by the perspective of Enrique (Eduardo Noriega), a police officer assigned to protect the mayor. He spots his girlfriend being embraced by a stranger and overhears them speaking about a meeting under a nearby underpass. When he confronts her, she assures him in Spanish that she loves him and him alone. She then asks if he has brought her bag and Enrique nods and hands it over. When the “president” is shot, Enrique rushes onto the stage to protect the mayor and is tackled by Agent Barnes. As he is in Secret Service custody, Enrique watches his girlfriend toss the bag he gave her under the podium. Realizing that there must have been a bomb in the bag, he breaks custody and starts running to the underpass that he heard about earlier while Secret Service agents attempt to recapture him but fail to do so while chasing him through several buildings. His scene ends as he confronts someone at the underpass, asking if they are surprised to see him still alive. Like in the previous scenes, the viewer is not shown the “surprise element”.  

Get Smart

Get Smart is an upcoming 2008 film adaptation of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry’s hit 1960s spy parody television show Get Smart. The film will star Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99. Alan Arkin will play the Chief. Masi Oka, Terence Stamp, Dwayne Johnson and Dalip “The Great Khali” Singh will also star. Bill Murray and Patrick Warburton make cameos in the film, as does Bernie Kopell, who played Siegfried in the original series.

Shooting began February 2007, and was continuing as of June 2007. Some scenes were shot in Montreal, Quebec, Canada between June 11 and June 13, 2007 at 1507 Docteur-Penfield Avenue and at McGill University. It is rated PG-13 by the MPAA ”for some crude humor, action violence and language.”

Cast

 

• Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart/Agent 86
• Anne Hathaway as Agent 99
• Alan Arkin as The Chief
• Dwayne Johnson as Agent 23
• Terence Stamp as Siegfried
• David Koechner as Agent Larabee
• Terry Crews as Agent 91
• Masi Oka as Bruce
• Nate Torrence as Lloyd
• Ken Davitian as Shtarker
• Dalip Singh (The Great Khali) as Agent Rana
• Bill Murray (cameo) as Agent 13
• Patrick Warburton (cameo) as Hymie the Robot
• Bernie Kopell (cameo)
• James Caan as the President of the United States

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2008 fantasy adventure film, based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It will be the sixth film in the Harry Potter films series. Production is in the principal photography stage. David Yates, the director of the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, will return as director for this film. David Heyman and David Barron will produce the film, and Steve Kloves, though he did not write the fifth film, will return as screenwriter for this installment. Filming began on September 24, 2007 and the film is scheduled for a UKUS release on November 21, 2008 and an Australian release on November 27, 2008. Like the previous film, the sixth film will be simultaneously released in regular theatres and IMAX 3-D.

Speed Racer

Speed Racer is an upcoming 2008 American family film that is a live action film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese animated series Speed Racer. The film is written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. The film had been in development since 1992, changing writers and directors until producer Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers collaborated to begin production on Speed Racer as a family film so the directors could reach a wider audience. Actor Emile Hirsch was cast as Speed, the hero of the animated series, and Christina Ricci portrays Speed’s girlfriend, Trixie. Speed Racer was produced in Germany at Babelsberg Studios, where filming took place entirely against greenscreen. The Wachowski brothers also filmed in high-definition video for the first time, using a layering method to put both the foreground and the background of scenes in focus to have a real-life anime appearance. Marketers have prepared toys and video games to coincide with the film’s release. Speed Racer is scheduled to be released on May 9, 2008.

Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a young man with natural racing instincts whose goal is to win The Crucible, a cross-country car racing rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex Racer (Scott Porter). Speed is loyal to the family business, run by his parents Pops (John Goodman) and Mom (Susan Sarandon). Pops designed Speed’s car, the Mach 5. The owner of Royalton Industries (Roger Allam) makes Speed a lucrative offer, Speed rejects the offer, angering the owner. Speed also uncovers a secret that top corporate interests, including Royalton, are fixing races and cheating to gain profit. With the offer to Speed denied, Royalton wants to ensure that Speed will not win races. Speed finds support from his parents and his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) and enters The Crucible in a partnership with his one-time rival, Racer X (Matthew Fox), seeking to rescue his family’s business and the racing sport itself.

 

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is an upcoming 2008 American superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman and is part of the Batman film series. The film is a sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, which rebooted the Batman film series after an eight-year hiatus. Christopher Nolan returns as the director, and Christian Bale reprises the lead role. Batman’s primary conflicts in the film come from his fight against the Joker (Heath Ledger) and his strained friendship with district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

For the film Nolan took inspiration from the Joker’s first two appearances in the comics, and like the first film, he used Batman: The Long Halloween as a major influence on the story. The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago, (as was Batman Begins), as well as several other locations in and outside the United States. The director used an IMAX camera to film four major action sequences, including the Joker’s first appearance in the film. The Batsuit was redesigned, with a cowl allowing Bale to move his head. A recreation of the Batcycle, known as the Batpod, will be introduced.

Warner Bros. created an aggressive viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight, developing several websites revealing details of the film, such as screenshots, as a reward for collaboration among Batman fans, leading to some press attention concerning how its campaign might be altered by Ledger’s January 22, 2008 death, as the Joker had been a chief promotional focus. Other marketing ventures include a new toy line as well as an animated direct-to-DVD anthology titled Batman: Gotham Knight that is set between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The film will be released on July 17, 2008 in Australia, on July 18, 2008 in North America, and on July 25, 2008 in the United Kingdom.

The Wolf Man

The Wolf Man is a 2009 horror film that is a remake of the 1941 Universal Studios classic The Wolf Man. The remake is directed by Joe Johnston and stars Benicio del Toro. The Wolf Man is slated for release on February 13, 2009.In March 2006, Universal Studios announced the remake of The Wolf Man with actor Benicio del Toro (a fan of the original film and collector of Wolf Man memorabilia) in the lead role. Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker was attached to the screenplay, developing the original film’s story to include additional characters as well as plot points that would take advantage of modern visual effects. In February 2007, director Mark Romanek was attached to helm The Wolf Man. The film was scheduled for aNovember 12, 2008 release, before being pushed back to early 2009 in September 2007.

In January 2008, Romanek left the project because of “creative differences”. Brett Ratner emerged as a frontrunner to replace Romanek, but the studio also met with Frank Darabont, James Mangold and Joe Johnston. They were also interested in Bill Condon, and Martin Campbell was interested. Johnston was hired to direct on February 3,2008, and the film’s shooting schedule and budget remained as intended. Johnston hired David Self to rewrite the script.^[4] The film will cost US$85 million to make, and shooting will be conducted in the United Kingdom. Shooting began in March 2008.

Rick Baker is creating the make-up for The Wolf Man. When he heard Universal was remaking the film, he eagerly pursued it, as both The Wolf Man and Frankensteininspired him to become a make-up artist as a child. He acknowledged transforming Del Toro was difficult because he is a hairy man: “Going from Benicio to Benicio as the Wolf Man isn’t a really extreme difference. Like when I did An American Werewolf in London, we went from this naked man to a four-legged hound from hell, and we had a lot of room to go from the transformation and do a lot of really extreme things. Here we have Benicio Del Toro, who’s practically the Wolf Man already, to Benicio Del Toro with more hair and bigger teeth.” The make-up takes three hours to apply, and one hour to remove. New pieces of latex prosthetic makeup and loose hair is applied to Del Toro’s face each day, while several dentures and wigs were created in case some were damaged.