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Supposedly, it’s going to be in theaters only two weeks, which maybe accounts for some of the ticket sales. But I imagine it’ll be held over, or head quickly to DVD for the holiday sales. Are you seeing it? Here’s one of the latest trailers from Sony.

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Sony screened the movie for Taylor, as well as Jackson peeps Miko Brando, Evvy Tavasci, and hairdresser Joe Eber. Jackson and his kids spent last Easter with Eber and Taylor. Kind of an odd crew, but I guess it worked for them.

Taylor said Jackson looked great and the film is “brilliant.” The film is causing quite a rift among Jackson’s camp. So far, no one from his family has asked for a ticket or shown up to see the film, even though Sony has invited them.

The only family even remotely interested is his father, Joe Jackson, who’s charging $3,000 a ticket on opening night for fans to meet him and see the film!

Really?! I guess I’m not too surprised by that news. That pretty much spells out out where Joe Jackson fits into things — trying to capitalize on his son’s death. And when Joe appeared on Larry King’s show, he couldn’t string two sentences together and rambled incoherently.

“This Is It” opens in Los Angeles on Oct. 27, 2009. Watch the trailer here.

Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment; Source: Showbiz411

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His forthcoming tour documentary, “This Is It,” has sold out worldwide. The movie has already sold out more than 1,000 showtimes on Fandango alone, and is currently the top-selling film on Fandango, representing 27% of weekly ticket sales on the site. Experts predict it’ll bring in nearly $250,000 million dollars.

Theater owners are adding extra showtimes to meet the demand, says Fandango’s Chief Operating Officer Rick Butler. “

"At this point in the film’s sales cycle, ‘This Is It’ is outpacing ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,’ ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ and ‘Star Trek’ as one of our top pre-sellers this year.”

I’ll check out the movie when it hits theaters, but I can’t say I’m ultra-geeked over it or anything. I think people are just fascinated by this mysterious guy, especially now that he’s no longer with us. It’s set to open on Oct. 28, 2009, in select theaters.

Were you one of the manic ticket buyers? Looking forward to this documentary? Check out the trailer here.

Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment

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Fox Searchlight is working on a movie deal about the legendary rockers, based on the upcoming memoir by Joey Ramone’s brother Mickey Leigh and longtime Ramones biographer Legs McNeil.

There’s a lot of rights issues to be worked out, but we’ll have a little faith that the project will move swimmingly towards theaters. Sure, they may have only known three chords, but they played the heck out of those chords, and these guys were undoubtedly the beginnings of punk rock.

Check out “End of the Century” for more on this groundbreaking band. And you don’t have to be sedated either!

Image: Amazon.com

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To celebrate the DVD and Blu-ray release of “The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition,” here’s the clip below. The commemorative edition contains nearly four hours of all-new and never-before-available bonus features. Buy it on Amazon. 

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Movie: Fame * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: Sept. 25, 2009
Runtime: 107 minutes	Directed by: Kevin Tancharoen
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material, including teen drinking, a sexual situation, and language	Gecko Rating:

The original 1980 movie “Fame” was rated R, and while I understand the desire to make this one PG (to appeal to the “High School Musical” crowd), it loses a lot in translation.

This modern version could have benefitted from a PG-13 rating; then they could have included more intense material, without trying to dilute it for the younger crowd. As it is, the movie is a little boring and the characters really aren’t fleshed out that well. It’s like “High School Musical,” only with more intense scenes (too intense, really, for a PG rating).

As with the original, this movie follows the lives of several students at the New York Academy of Performing Arts. The original has a famous line from Debbie Allen (who played a dance teacher in that movie and plays the principal in this movie; different character, though): “You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying … in sweat…” That line is said over the opening credits in the new movie.

The only problem is, we don’t really see a whole lot of sweat. We see a kid who doesn’t seem to have much talent in any of the arts (Kay Panabaker’s character), a not-very-good dancer from Iowa who manages to make it past the audition process, and various other talented and non-talented kids. This IS a pretty prestigious school, after all. You’d think most of the non-talented kids would be weeded out in auditions.

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The kids include Alice (Kherington Payne), a dancer from a rich family; Malik (Collins Pennie), a Harlem kid who dreams of a career on the stage; Denise (Naturi Naughton), a classical pianist whose real talent is hip-hop singing (despite the objections of her parents); Victor (Walter Perez), a budding music producer; Kevin (Paul McGill), the aforementioned dancer from Iowa; Joy (Anna Maria Perez de Tagle), an entertainer who scores a gig on “Sesame Street” in her junior year; Jenny (Kay Panabaker), an uptight actress who needs to loosen up; and Marco (Asher Book), a sweet boy who attempts to loosen her up (but in a good way).

The standouts are Book and Naughton, both of whom have beautiful voices and are a pleasure to listen to, even through the movie screen. The teachers include Kelsey Grammer (music), Bebe Neuwirth (dance, and yes, Frasier and his wife!); Megan Mullally (musical theater); and Charles S. Dutton (drama). They all have their moments of tough-love, pep talks and drama.

Despite the promising premise, this movie falls flat in just about every way – even the obligatory lunchroom number which we’re expected to believe is spontaneous (I didn’t believe that with the original movie either). Still, if you want to see something that changed pop culture, see the original 1980 movie. Since it’s rated R, kids can check out the more family-friendly TV series; seasons one and two were just released on DVD.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Some of the dances are sensuous, and there are several kisses between major characters. In one scene, an actor tries to take advantage of a female teen by pretending to film an audition scene in his trailer. (I couldn’t help but think she should have known; even the girl in front of me at the theater said, “Even my grandmother could have seen that guy coming.”)

Violence includes references to a character’s violent past, including his little sister being hit by stray gang-related bullets. A depressed character seems like he’s going to jump in front of a subway, but is stopped in the nick of time. There’s a lot of profanity for a PG movie, including “sh*t,” “a**hole,” “hell,” “goddamn,” and bullsh*t.”

Images: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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Three previous incarnations starred Janet Gaynor (1937), Judy Garland (1954), and Barbra Streisand (1976) as a young, up-and-coming songstress who falls in love with an established male entertainer / rock star, only to see their careers move in different directions.

Beyonce’s name has come up as a lead in the new movie, and I think she’d be great in the role. She’s already played a similar character in “Dreamgirls,” plus her voice is beyond amazing.

Ok, I take back my previous statement about the remakes, because “A Star is Born” would be perfect for this day and age, when the paparazzi and celebrity business is booming.

Image: INF; Beyonce at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

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Fame (PG). This modern update of Alan Parker’s 1980 movie follows a group of students attending the New York School of Performing Arts from audition through graduation.  Stars Irene Cara, Eddie Barth, Kelsey Grammer, Kay Panabaker, and Lee Curreri. Will it be as good as the original? I’ll let you know in 24 hours. [Preview & Trailer] [Official Site]

Surrogates (PG-13). Bruce Willis stars in this thriller about a futuristic world where people live in the comfort of their homes and let surrogates live their lives for them. Also stars Radha Mitchell and Ving Rhames. [Preview & Trailer] [Official Site]

Pandorum (R ). Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid star in this sci-fi flick about two crew members stranded on a spacecraft who quickly realize they’re not alone. That would be creepy enough, but the astronauts awaken from a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft; it’s pitch black, they’re disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the spacecraft. And they can’t remember who they are or what their mission is. This is where we cue the “Twilight Zone” music. [Official Site]

Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

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