Rob’s Finds
Back with wired world of “Rob’s Finds.” Today we start with an interesting piece from io9.com: 8 upcoming science fiction movies that could be the next District 9:
Last year, thought-provoking independent film District 9 swept the box office and blasted its way into the Oscars. Was this a fluke, or could it happen again? Here are eight new science-fiction underdogs that could be the next sleeper hit.
To be sure, some of the films in this list have A-list stars, like Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. But they’re still smaller projects, without the budgets of a Tron Legacy or a Transformers 3.
And the list?
1) Source Code
2) The Darkest Hour
3) The Adjustment Bureau
4) Skyline
5) Battle: Los Angeles
6) Paul
7) The Host
8) Gravity
Lots of directors and actors mentioned with each project. No screenwriters. To remedy that:
Source Code, screenplay by Billy Ray and Ben Ripley
The Darkest Hour, writers M.T. Ahern and Leslie Bohem, screenplay by Jon Spaihts
The Adjustment Bureau, screenplay by George Nolfi, based on a short story by Philip K. Dick
Skyline, written by Joshua Cordes and Liam O’Donnell
Battle: Los Angeles, written by Christopher Bertolini
Paul, written by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg
The Host, screenplay by Andrew Niccol, story by Stephenie Meyer, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer
Gravity, screenplay by Andrew Alexander and Jonás Cuarón and Rodrigo García and Alfonso Cuarón
Note: Official writing credits TBD.
Next Rob found a fun movie list on Cinematical.com: Seven comedies centered around dead bodies:
Neil LaBute’s remake of Death at a Funeral opens this week, and it got me thinking as to how much mirth has been generated over the years by the demise of some poor onscreen sucker. Think of the advantages these corpses have. They make the perfect straight man and they never flub a punchline. And, if handled correctly, a dead body can flop out of a coffin or roll down a hill with comic aplomb. Hence, here are seven comedies centered around dead bodies:
The list:
1. The Trouble with Harry (1955, Alfred Hitchcock)
2. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989, Ted Kotcheff)
3. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983, Harold Ramis)
4. Little Miss Sunshine (2006, Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris)
5. The Butcher Boy (1997, Neil Jordan)
6. Waking Ned Devine (1998, Kirk Jones)
7. Death at a Funeral (2007, Frank Oz)
Again the directors get all the love, but no screenwriters. And again we fix this faux pas:
The Trouble with Harry, screenplay by John Michael Hayes, based on the novel Jack Trevor Story
Weekend at Bernies, written by Robert Klane
National Lampoon’s Vacation, screenplay by John Hughes, story by John Hughes
Little Miss Sunshine, written by Michael Arndt
The Butcher Boy, screenplay by Neil Jordan and Pat McCabe, based on the novel by Pat McCabe
Waking Ned Devine, written and directed by Kirk Jones
Death at a Funeral, written by Dean Craig
Next some joyous news for a notable screenwriter: Diablo Cody is Pregnant with First Child:
Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody
(real name Brook Busey) announced on Twitter that she and her husband Dan Maurio, who works on Chelsea Lately, are expecting their first child. Dan and Diablo tied the knot in a simply ceremony in the summer of 2009.
Diablo
tweeted, “Thanks for the congrats on my fetus! No secrets here; just thought it would be fun to see how big I could get before someone noticed.”
And if it’s a girl, I guess we’re looking at another member of The Fempire!
Finally Rob has discovered what really happens in the writers’ room at Snapple Facts [Note: NSFW]: