Hosts

Farrell Roth
Lon Harris

Roger Erik Tinch is at Fantastic Fest in Austin this week. He will return on next week’s show!

Guest

Amanda Schull, star of “Center Stage” and “Mao’s Last Dancer”

Introduction

Farrell and Lon share the old table and chat about the lack of Tinch.

Trailer Talk

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” Part 1

Lon has been let down by the last few “Potter” films, but notes that this one looks epic, and that it appears much of the action takes place in the “real world” as opposed to keeping things so closely tied to Hogwarts.

“Love and Other Drugs”

Farrell thought this film looked like a fun, pleasant romantic comedy, until Lon broke the news to her that it may, in fact, have a tragic ending. The darker ending is hinted at in the follow-up trailer.

In Theaters

“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”

Both Lon and Farrell saw the new “Wall Street” sequel and both agreed that it suffered from being disjointed and sort of awkwardly plodding.

Lon noted how many simultaneous plot threads Oliver Stone was working on at once, and felt that none of the stories got enough individual attention. He also noted that the original film was really a character-driven story about a young man being seduced by wealth and power, whereas the new film is more specifically about economics and the world of Wall Street finance. This makes the film less entertaining and fun, and more like an intellectual exercise. The new film lacks heart.

Lon and Farrell strongly disagreed, however, about actress Carey Mulligan. Lon finds her performances one-note and drab, whereas Farrell remains taken with her after her turn in “An Education.”

“Never Let Me Go”

ANOTHER film with Mulligan, this one is a science-fiction drama set at a boarding school in the recent past. Mulligan and Keira Knightley play students who find out they are clones who have been raised only to have their organs harvested. She felt that the combination of science-fiction and traditional English countryside-set drama was awkward, but did like how the movie kept her guessing about what was really happening throughout. Her final verdict is that the film, though interesting, is more of a rental than a must-see movie in theaters.

News

New Bill and Ted Movie?

Both Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves have apparently expressed interest in returning to the roles of Bill S Preston, Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan in a completion to the inevitable “Bill and Ted’s” trilogy. According to MTV’s Movie Blog, a third film is in development presently – a script is underway – and Winter has promised that the new film won’t by a cynical rehash of the classic original films.

Rumored “Superman” Directors

Producers Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas reportedly have 5 directors on their shortlist for helming the forthcoming Superman reboot. According to Deadline Hollywood, the list includes: Tony Scott, Matt Reeves (of “Cloverfield” and “Let Me In”), Zack Snyder, Duncan Jones (“Moon”) and Jonathan Liesbesman (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.”)

Fantastic Fest 2010

“Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zhen”: Insane-looking new action film from Andrew Lau of “Infernal Affairs.”)

“Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale”: Finnish movie about a kidnapping attempt on Santa Claus. (Don’t worry…in this version, Santa is evil.) It has been called “The Coen Brothers meets The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

“13 Assassins”: Violent samurai film from Takashi Miike.

“Bunraku”: Thriller with Josh Hartnett about an assassin trying to take out a vicious crime boss.

“Let Me In”: Matt Reeves’ remake of the 2008 vampire drama “Let the Right One In” is getting rave reviews.

“Mother’s Day”: Remake of the classic 1980 exploitation film from the director of “Saw 2-4″ about rednecks who kidnap and torture women to please their twisted mother. Rebecca De Mornay plays Mom in the new version. Awesome.

“Rubber”: Pseudo-narrative postmodern thriller about the hunt for a sentient tire with pyrokinesis.

Stephen Fry in “Sherlock Holmes 2″

Fry announced on BBC radio this weekend that he’ll be playing Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother, in the sequel to Guy Ritchie’s 2009 hit “Sherlock Holmes.” In the books, Mycroft is basically a lazier, plumper version of Sherlock, who could solve mysteries and be a hero but prefers to hang out at home NOT solving mysteries.

Jason Reitman’s “Young Adult”

Director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody, the pair behind “Juno,” are set to reteam for “Young Adult,” based on Cody’s screenplay. The story will follow a woman who returns to her hometown and begins stalking her old high school boyfriend boyfriend.

Charlize Theron will play the lead, and it now seems that Patton Oswalt has been cast in the film and Patrick Wilson is in talks with the producers to join as well.

“I Spit On Your Grave” Remake?

I can’t honestly believe someone has bothered to remake the shockingly bad, massively distasteful 1978 film “Day of the Woman,” which was re-released in 1980 with the more well-known title, “I Spit On Your Grave.”

Now Anchor Bay is releasing A REMAKE on October 8th. Steven R. Monroe directs – he’s done a bunch of TV movies and the 2005 direct-to-DVD horror film “House of 9,” with Dennis Hopper.

Commentary on Commentary

Farrell looked at the original film “Wall Street” for her Commentary this week. She discussed a lot of the issues raised by Stone on the disc, particularly concerning the rift between Daryl Hannah and Sean Young that started on their very first day on set. Young felt that she would be a better choice for the role of Darien, that had been given to Hannah, and said so openly. Hannah, already self-conscious about playing such a bitchy, materialistic character, then found it very difficult to inhabit the role. Stone later realized he agreed with Young, that she would have been a better choice.

Stone also discussed casting of the role of Gordon Gekko, for which several other actors were considered prior to star Michael Douglas. Douglas eventually won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance.

Interview with Amanda Schull

Schull is a professional ballerina by trade. In 2000, she was cast in “Center Stage,” but though she enjoyed acting, she decided to keep up her career as a dancer, and turned down other roles.

Having now retired from ballet, she has returned to Hollywood to take up acting full time. She has appeared in the TV shows “Pretty Little Liars” and “One Tree Hill” and stars in the Australian film “Mao’s Last Dancer,” based on the autobiography of Chinese ballet dancer Li Cunxin.

During the interview, Schull discussed her experiences transitioning from dancer to actress, the summer she spent making “Center Stage,” and working with Bruce Beresford on “Mao’s,” one of the most popular Australian films of all time.

Trailer: “Mao’s Last Dancer”

Insufferable Film Snob: “Youth of the Beast”

Lon discusses the 1963 Japanese yakuza classic, “Youth of the Beast,” directed by Outlaw Master Seijun Suzuki.

Trailer for “Youth of the Beast”

Closing

Stay tuned next week for Tinch’s return and an interview with “City Island” director Raymond De Felitta!