Check Out This Just Released Teaser Poster For 'W':



I guess you know exactly what you're getting into with this one.

Clinton Eastwood: "A Guy Like Him Should Shut His Face":

Clint Eastwood folds his gangly frame behind a clifftop table at the Hotel Du Cap, a few miles up the coast from Cannes, sighs deeply, and squints out over the Mediterranean. "Has he ever studied the history?" he asks, in that familiar near-whisper.

The "he" is Spike Lee, and the reason Eastwood is asking is because of something Lee had said about Eastwood's Iwo Jima movie Flags of Our Fathers, while promoting his own war movie, Miracle at St Anna, about a black US unit in the second world war. Lee had noted the lack of African-Americans in Eastwood's movie and told reporters: "That was his version. The negro version did not exist."

Eastwood has no time for Lee's gripes. "He was complaining when I did Bird [the 1988 biopic of Charlie Parker]. Why would a white guy be doing that? I was the only guy who made it, that's why. He could have gone ahead and made it. Instead he was making something else." As for Flags of Our Fathers, he says, yes, there was a small detachment of black troops on Iwo Jima as a part of a munitions company, "but they didn't raise the flag. The story is Flags of Our Fathers, the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn't do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people'd go, 'This guy's lost his mind.' I mean, it's not accurate."

Lee shouldn't be demanding African-Americans in Eastwood's next picture, either. Changeling is set in Los Angeles during the Depression, before the city's make-up was changed by the large black influx. "What are you going to do, you gonna tell a fuckin' story about that?" he growls. "Make it look like a commercial for an equal opportunity player? I'm not in that game. I'm playing it the way I read it historically, and that's the way it is. When I do a picture and it's 90% black, like Bird, I use 90% black people."

Eastwood pauses, deliberately - once it would have provided him with the beat in which to spit out his cheroot before flinging back his poncho - and offers a last word of advice to the most influential black director in American movies. "A guy like him should shut his face."

Love it. There's a natural reaction, when a prominent black man like Spike Lee accuses you of racism, to be on the defensive. Spike Lee is a moron. Clint Eastwood is dead on in his Criticism of Lee and he'll get nothing but trouble for these comments. Point: Eastwood...

Update: Spike Strikes Back: Calls Eastwood 'Old and Angry'

One Of The Most Interesting Politicos To Grace The Earth:

The first trailer for the documentary Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson has debuted for your viewing pleasure. There is a good selection of documentaries that I'll strongly encourage people take an interest in this year. Besides both American Teen and Bigger, Stronger, Faster, this is another one of the better ones. Hunter S. Thompson was a journalist and novelist most well known for writing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This documentary, narrated by Johnny Depp, it tells the story of Hunter's creation of "Gonzo journalism," a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become the central figures of their stories. I've heard nothing but positive things about this doc from screening at Sundance and this trailer looks great.

Although I haven't seen it yet, Neil at Film School Rejects loved this doc, giving it a stellar A+ rating in his review and ranking it as the #4 best film from Sundance. "I wasn't very interested in the life of Hunter S. Thompson prior to seeing Alex Gibney's brilliant doc about the Gonzo journalist, but now I am absolutely hooked. Thompson's brand of journalism is exactly what many bloggers do today - news that is honest and often very subjective. The doc is an illuminating look at one of the single greatest journalists of our time." Definitely sounds worth watching to me!

This is right down my alley. I love documentaries and I'm a huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson. You can bet your ass I'll be watching Gonzo.

Experts Say The Film Could Rake In $150 Million This Weekend:

Indy 4 is now targeting $100M for the traditional 3-day weekend, Friday-thru-Sunday, although at the moment I am projecting $98.56M. That would mean a total domestic take of $123.6M by Sunday night. I am penciling in a conservative $24.5M or so for Monday, which would push Harrison Ford and his fedora to a 4-day Memorial Day weekend of $123.2M and a 5-day haul of $148.24M.

Rounding Out The Top Ten For The Weekend:

1. Indiana Jones 4 (Paramount) - $98.56M - $23,137 PTA
2. Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) - $21.97M - $5,593 PTA
3. Iron Man (Paramount) - $19.94M - $5,096 PTA - $252.11M
4. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) - $12.06M - $3,784 PTA
5. Speed Racer (Warner Bros) - $4.5M - $1,446 PTA
6. Made of Honor (Sony) - $4.46M - $1,866 PTA
7. Baby Mama (Universal) - $3.77M - $1,752 PTA
8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) - $1.69M - $1,583 PTA
9. Harold & Kumar 2 (Warner Bros) - $990,000 - $1,320 PTA
10. Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate) - $735,000 - $1,509 PTA

This massive opening take puts it in the top 5 opening weekends of all time. Amazingly, Iron Man is still holding strong in third.

Did You Watch The #1 Movie In The Country, After The Credits?:



As we first reported on Saturday, Iron Man is the number one movie in the country, pulling in over 100 million dollars. I'm no huge comic book buff but I watched the film myself and loved it. However, as the credits roll and the audience shuffles out, there is an additional scene that paves the way for an Iron Man sequel.

The screen once again focuses in on Robert Downey Jr. in his hilltop mansion as he arrives home after a press conference. In his main living room is a familiar figure, first identified by his voice, Samuel L. Jackson appears as Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He talks about wanting to cooperate with the newly named 'Iron Man' in a new battle against the Avengers. The ensuing script practically writes itself.

Update: Wow. That was fast. Iron Man 2 set for April 30, 2010.

As Always, Here Are The Weekend Estimates Before Anyone Else:

1. NEW – Iron Man (Paramount) – $91M - $22,168 PTA
2. NEW – Made of Honor (Sony) - $15.7M - $5,753 PTA
3. Baby Mama (Universal) – $10.5M - $4,121 PTA
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) - $5.7M- $1,987 PTA
5. Harold & Kumar 2 (Warner Bros) - $5.4M - $2,122 PTA
6. The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate) - $3.41M - $1,153 PTA
7. Nim’s Island (Fox) - $2.38M - $963 PTA
8. Prom Night (Sony) - $1.98M - $813 PTA
9. 21 (Sony) - $1.79M - $801 PTA
10. 88 Minutes (Sony) - $1.34M - $762 PTA

There's a lot of speculation that Iron Man will top $100M.

Here Is A 10 Minute Preview Of Ben Stein's Movie 'Expelled':



This looks like an interesting movie. People are already going nuts about 'Expelled' and it doesn't hit theaters until Friday. The Orlando Sentinel gave the film '1 Star' and called it 'a cynical attempt to sucker Christian conservatives into thinking they're losing the 'intelligent design' debate because of academic 'prejudice.' If the critics are this lathered up already, Stein must be doing something right. Ben Stein is scheduled to join us on The News Junkie Radio Show this Saturday from 6-9PM on News Radio 1290 WJNO.

Behold, The Next Anti-War Bomb 'Standard Operating Procedure':

Standard Operating Procedure is a 2008 documentary film which explores the events surrounding the Abu Ghraib scandal. The film was directed by Errol Morris, and stars Christopher Bradley, Sarah Denning, and Joshua Feinman.

The 'coming soon' poster is less than enticing:



We predicted the epic failure of Stop-Loss at the box office and this film will do just as bad if not worse. Then again, I'm sure it will be a runaway hit in Tehran.