edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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November 12

Slumdog Millionaire

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A Christmas Tale

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The Dukes

Eden

House of the Sleeping Beauties

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November 21

The Betrayal

November 30

Scott re-doing "The Warriors"

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Tony Scott's lame ideas for reconstructing Walter Hill's The Warriors is another case of a hip Hollywood guy (and his chortling corporate backers) showing obesiance before the power of street machismo, or the wild west factor in urban culture. Establishing a bond with all this links to a general connection with urban audiences and presumed loyalty down the road. In short, a good business move.

You homies are the shit and the style...predatory turf monsters with fierce expressions and shaved heads and big developed biceps, and you know how fast and cool I can be. (Check out Domino.) And I want to make a film that reflects and worships you and your hard culture (violence, bling, fast money, hot cars, ho's) to the hilt. Trust me when I say that no amount of grovelling or cinematic fellatio is beyond my bounds.

Scott money quote #1: "I really hate remakes, but the The Warriors is one of my all time favorite movies, and what I'm doing is kind of reinventing it. And rather than a gang itÂ¹s going to be 30 guys who take on 3,000. It's Kingdom Of Heaven meets The Warriors. We're going to use the L.A. river bed as a major location."

Scott money quote #2: "I've been meeting all the [real] gang leaders, theyÂ¹re saying theyÂ¹ll sign this treaty for the duration of the shoot. I want this shot of 50,000 real gang members all on Long Beach -- tThe Crips, The Bloods, the Vietnamese, the Cambodians, the 18th Street gang... all there. It's going to be cool."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 28, 2006 at 7:59 AM

comment #1

actionman says ...

Wow Jeff, you are begining to worry me

This sounds SO FUCKING COOL!!! what the hell is wrong with you?!?!?

The Warriors was a great-for-its-time action movie that plays out in extremely dated fashion by today's standards. Not to say that it's a bad action flick, as I love most of Walter Hill's output. But this is one flick that could stand a re-imagining, and I for one am just fuckin' giddy about the prospects of a completely balls-out Tony Scott style remake.

Jeff--what did you think of Deja Vu, or have you still not seen it yet?

And honestly man, what's going on with you lately? So much hate and bile and anger coming out of you....I love your site but it's been a turn-off the last few weeks...

Posted by actionman at November 28, 2006 9:06 AM

comment #2

christian says ...

no actionman, this sounds totally UNCOOL.

THE WARRIORS is an urban comic book and this "reimagining" is a shallow white dude's idea of street cred. you don't need to even see this just imagine it in your head: hear the ludacris beats! see the flash frame elliptical action scenes! behold the washed out orange glow of LA!
tony scott keeps it real!

Posted by christian at November 28, 2006 9:31 AM

comment #3

christian says ...

no actionman, this sounds totally UNCOOL.

Posted by christian at November 28, 2006 9:32 AM

comment #4

christian says ...

sorry for the double dip. itchy trigger finger.

Posted by christian at November 28, 2006 9:32 AM

comment #5

The Movie Man says ...

This is tasteless and depressing even by the standards of Mr. Scott, maybe he'll get lucky and can convince some of the gang members to off themselves for the benefit of the camera, and of course, our amusement.

Posted by The Movie Man at November 28, 2006 9:37 AM

comment #6

Monument says ...

Didn't Michael Jackson already do this in the "Beat It" video?

Posted by Monument at November 28, 2006 9:44 AM

comment #7

actionman says ...

you guys have NO fuckin' balls

Posted by actionman at November 28, 2006 10:11 AM

comment #8

corey3rd says ...

50,000 gang members in one place....I want to be caught in that traffic jam.

There should just be a movie about this movie and what the hell goes wrong when somebody decides to get a bit of revenge on the set. The whole movie could be about Tony Scott trying to get his ass home and not get killed by gangbangers or beaten senseless by cops who are pissed at Tony's project. There's reimagining.

Posted by corey3rd at November 28, 2006 10:41 AM

comment #9

KunDunz says ...

The script is suppose to be balls, so I wouldnt put much faith in this remake.

Posted by KunDunz at November 28, 2006 10:45 AM

comment #10

D.Z. says ...

The only gangs left in New York are the ones run by the mafia and the occasional cop whose silence they're able to buy off. It makes sense to move the film to L.A., because that's where the tension is right now.

Posted by D.Z. at November 28, 2006 11:15 AM

comment #11

christian says ...

there's a good movie waiting to happen about gangs, but methinks the guy who directed THE HUNGER, DOMINO, DAYS OF THUNDER and BEVERLY HILLS COP 2 is not the one.

and of course, the real gangs who appear will use the film to validate their thuggery. cool.

Posted by christian at November 28, 2006 11:32 AM

comment #12

Walter Sobchak says ...

I can see it now! Computer generated gangs! CG fights! CG Baseball Furies! CG explosions! CG Rogue-mobile! And that cool filter that makes the sky all orange no matter what time of day it is. And a cool CG scene where a six-year-old girl playing in her living room gets part of her head blown off by a stray bullet from a 9mm fired by one gang member at another because he dissed him! That'll be AWESOME!

Posted by Walter Sobchak at November 28, 2006 11:42 AM

comment #13

actionman says ...

if u knew anything about tony scott than you would know he'd never ever use obvious CGI and I highly doubt he'll be using CGI gangs. One of the best aspects of Tony's movies is that even if something has been created by/with a computer, you'd never be able to tell.

Posted by actionman at November 28, 2006 12:06 PM

comment #14

Walter Sobchak says ...

Well golly, actionman, you got me there.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at November 28, 2006 12:13 PM

comment #15

actionman says ...

you either like stylish, manly, violent, ass-kicking action movies or you don't.

Posted by actionman at November 28, 2006 12:23 PM

comment #16

siamesecat says ...

"I want this shot of 50,000 real gang members all on Long Beach -- tThe Crips, The Bloods, the Vietnamese, the Cambodians, the 18th Street gang... all there."

In the Air Force this is known as a "target-rich environment."

Posted by siamesecat at November 28, 2006 12:26 PM

comment #17

actionman says ...

to coin a phrase from tony scott's top gun...

Posted by actionman at November 28, 2006 12:42 PM

comment #18

Argen says ...

So...you're claiming that the Air Force borrowed the phrase from TOP GUN?

Posted by Argen at November 28, 2006 2:18 PM

comment #19

actionman says ...

oh please, get over yourself, u know what i meant
this is a thread about tony scott for chrissake

Posted by actionman at November 28, 2006 3:13 PM

comment #20

donnyboy says ...

---if u knew anything about tony scott than you would know he'd never ever use obvious CGI---

I guess you didn't you see Redford's face in SPY GAME then.

Posted by donnyboy at November 28, 2006 4:33 PM

comment #21

Argen says ...

True. But when you say "to coin a phrase" it means... oh, never mind.

To stay on topic, Scott can do what he wants with THE WARRIORS as long as he's not burning all remaining prints of the original. That way I can avoid his and watch the Hill version until I'm a very old man. It may be dated, but it is a piece of art.

Posted by Argen at November 28, 2006 4:34 PM

comment #22

corey3rd says ...

the whole film will be shot in Close Up - it's a tony scott film

Posted by corey3rd at November 28, 2006 4:59 PM

comment #23

donnyboy says ...

corey3rd :

don't you mean: primed for the DVD market?

Posted by donnyboy at November 28, 2006 5:16 PM

comment #24

actionman says ...

"I guess you didn't you see Redford's face in SPY GAME then."

what are u talking about...?

Posted by actionman at November 28, 2006 5:33 PM

comment #25

MPNeeb says ...

Tony might actually have a few good ideas, but put them in a movie that isn't a 'Warriors' remake.
I have no need to see a bunch of slow-mo'ed half-wits trying to look tough and invoke the 'wack' natural of the original.
All I can figure is Tony is trying to ape some of the coolness that will result from Ridley's 'American Gangster' next year.

Posted by MPNeeb at November 28, 2006 11:30 PM

comment #26