It’s pretty commonly held belief that Hollywood has been in a bit of a rut over the past few years, at least in terms of originality. At the moment, very few studios are looking to greenlight projects that don’t have instant name recognition. Potential franchises, licensed properties and brand names are all the rage, which explains why we’re getting so many remakes and sequels as of late — not to mention movies based on theme park rides, board games and anything else with a built-in audience. So what has changed in the world of movies that has caused producers to stop taking risks?

Well, one big issue is that it seems there are fewer and fewer bankable movie stars that can reliably draw audiences in anymore. Aside from someone like Will Smith, who makes about a bajillion dollars no matter what movie he’s in, there aren’t many actors who can guarantee a large opening weekend. Anne Thompson wrote in Variety last month that star power doesn’t necessarily pay off anymore, and studios are thinking twice before attaching big name actors to their projects. One example is the recent Ridley Scott movie, Body of Lies, which had a production budget of $70 million, and thus far has earned only $60 million worldwide. Without Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe’s names on the poster, the movie would have made a lot less… but it also would have cost a lot less too. What do you think? Do people still choose what movies to see based solely on the actors in them? Or are they becoming more critic savvy, reading reviews and generally being more picky about what they spend their money on? Can you think of any actors that still pack theatres by their mere presence alone? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.

Ziro The Hutt would like to congratulate the following Film Junk readers, who have won themselves a copy of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on DVD:

• Andy M. of Melvindale, MI
• Craig B. of Pleasant View, TN
• Marlies V. of Zaandam, The Netherlands

Thanks to all who entered, and thanks to Vertical Marketing for making the contest possible. Stay tuned for more cool giveaways right here on Film Junk!

The first teaser trailer for Imagi’s upcoming CG adaptation of the classic anime/manga Astro Boy has just flown onto the web (and will also, I assume, be playing with Bolt in theatres this weekend). While I certainly have some nostalgic attachment to the character, I’ve been a little unsure about whether or not computer animation is the right way to go, and although the teaser trailer is pretty short, it has actually confirmed some of my suspicions.

The animation looks decent for what it is, but for some reason it just doesn’t feel like Astro Boy to me. Somehow it’s just too polished and slick and shiny… and, as much as I hate to say it… too American. I don’t know, maybe I’m just being nitpicky at this point. Clearly we’ll need to see a bit more footage before we can start passing judgment, but this teaser just didn’t do anything for me. Are you looking forward to it? Directed by David Bowers (Flushed Away) and featuring the voices of Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage and Kristen Bell, Astro Boy hits theatres on October 23rd, 2009.

I have to admit, nowadays I hold a bit of a bias against any computer animated movies that aren’t produced by Pixar. There are just so many CG flicks coming out that it’s impossible to keep them all straight, and without the Pixar seal of quality, I’ll rarely take a risk on seeing a movie if it looks like something I’ve seen a million times before. (Heck, I still haven’t seen Kung Fu Panda in spite of all the great reviews.) The ironic thing is that a lot of the other animation studios are really stepping up their game as of late. They’re no longer ripping off Pixar, instead they’re doing their own thing, and doing it well. With Bolt hitting theatres this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to survey Film Junk’s readers about the best non-Pixar CG films. Once again I had to narrow the poll down to 10 options, but feel free to add any other noteworthy titles in the comments below!

As it stands right now, Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler is probably my favourite movie of the year; I don’t want to speak for Greg or Jay but I have a feeling it will be a shoo-in for Film Junk’s #1 pick for 2008. Of course, a lot of people still haven’t had a chance to see this great movie because it doesn’t open in theatres until December 17th. It will probably be a fairly limited release to start, but with any luck it will expand because it’s an amazing flick with solid buzz and some mainstream appeal as well.

The full trailer for The Wrestler has just gone online and I think it does a great job of showing what the movie has to offer. First and foremost, it’s a powerful performance by Mickey Rourke, but it also has some brief flashes of humour, and it’s all set to the unlikely backdrop of semi-pro wrestling. It’s definitely one of the most unique movies to come along in a while, and I hope everyone gets a chance to check it out soon. You can watch the trailer embedded below, or see it in Quicktime HD over at Apple.com.

There are only really two new movies hitting theatres this weekend, the teen vampire drama Twilight and Disney’s animated Bolt. Bolt seems to be getting great reviews, and Twilight not so much, but it certainly looks like Twilight will have the biggest turn out this weekend. Will it be enough to beat Bond? We’ll soon find out. Also hitting a very small number of theatres is Special starring Michael Rapaport, the quirky superhero comedy that is playing as part of the Six Shooter Series. What are you seeing this weekend?

Twilight
Bolt
Special (limited)
I Can’t Think Straight (limited)
Lake City (limited)

The original Tremors is a true cult classic from the early ’90s that has more than its fair share of dedicated fans. You’ve got Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Victor Wong, and Reba McEntire all in a desert town being stalked by a bunch of underground creatures… what’s not to love? Of course, the magic quickly wore off throughout the three sequels that followed, but I guess that’s to be expected when most of the cast and crew jump ship. Recently we heard rumours that Tremors director Ron Underwood was going to be reteaming with writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock for a new movie called Night Crew. Now this week, Cinema Blend brings us the strange news of yet another possible Tremors sequel.

According to an inside source at Universal, there is a fifth Tremors movie in development with the tentative title Tremors: The Thunder From Down Under. As you can probably guess, it will take place in Australia, but it’s unclear whether Wilson or Maddock will have anything to do with it (the duo took turns directing parts 2, 3 and 4). We all know that Michael Gross is likely to be the only returning cast member, but I just might be interested if they can somehow get Paul Hogan on board! In all seriousness though, this is one situation where a sequel seems kind of pointless — if anything, a reboot makes more sense. A direct-to-DVD Tremors 5 won’t be doing anyone any favours. I just hope this doesn’t mean Night Crew isn’t happening, because I’d much rather see something new from the same team, than a rehash of an old classic. What do the Tremors fans out there have to say about this project?

Fan films… we love to hate ‘em here at Film Junk. It’s not that they can’t be entertaining or fun, but unless they are based on a truly clever idea, they represent the height of laziness from a storytelling standpoint. Coasting on the coattails of other people’s work, if you will. Nowadays the collaborative nature of the internet has lead to a cut and paste culture, and I will admit that sometimes re-appropriating other people’s creations can lead to cool new things. But 99% of fan films are laughable, and when people pour a large amount of time and money into these things, you have to wonder what they’re getting out of it.

In the case of Sandy Collora, director of the popular fan film Batman: Dead End, he may have actually earned himself a shot at directing his first feature film. After working on the special effects for such Hollywood movies as Leviathan and Predator 2, it’s no surprise that his first movie Hunter Prey pays tribute to sci-fi action movies of the ’80s. In fact, looking at the first stills from the movie, you might assume it was a Star Wars fan film. Although I thought Batman: Dead End was completely ridiculous, I do give Collora props for going out and doing something somewhat original this time around. He certainly knows his creature FX… the question is, will the movie actually be any good? Unfortunately, it has at least one strike against it: body builder Clark Bartram is once again starring in it. Just check out the video below… HORRIBLE.

It’s been a while since there has been an animated film that I’ve been really looking forward to, but a stop motion movie directed by Henry Selick (James and the Giant Peach, The Nightmare Before Christmas) and based on a book by Neil Gaiman is definitely something worth getting excited about. I liked all the early footage that I saw from the upcoming movie Coraline, but nothing could prepare me for this new theatrical trailer, which has just gone online over at Yahoo!. It looks absolutely fantastic!

I guess it’s hard to avoid getting a bit of a Tim Burton vibe from some of it, but overall this looks so much better than Burton’s last animated movie Corpse Bride, and the art style and story should be more than enough to distinguish it from Selick’s previous flicks. Coraline hits theatres on February 6th, 2009, and will also be playing in 3-D. You can bet I won’t be missing out on it… will you? Check out the new trailer below and see what you think.

It was only a month ago that Latino Review reported that the new live action He-Man film, which was originally supposed to be directed by John Woo, was officially dead in the water. Apparently the short list of directors that Warner Brothers had in mind to replace Woo (including Doug Liman and Bryan Singer) simply weren’t interested. Now this week, however, it appears that the project may still be alive and kicking.

According to Latino Review, Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson came in and pitched his own version of He-Man, and the studio loved it… which means it’s back on again! Unfortunately, it also means that the Justin Marks script that everyone has been raving about around the web probably won’t be used. I still have yet to see Kung Fu Panda, but I know a lot of people really liked it. I’m just not sure if that is because they had low expectations going in, or if it is genuinely a great flick. Either way, I can understand how an animation guy would probably be passionate about a classic cartoon like He-Man, I just don’t know if it makes sense for him to direct a live action film based on it. Do you think he can pull it off?