iW Daily Recap | 6 Stories Not to Miss for Thursday
indieWIRE Recaps is a new daily column that curates indie news and stories from around the film world. If you’d like to suggest an article, you can find us at editors@indiewire.com.
“The Hobbit” Video Hits Facebook
Peter Jackson gave J.R.R. Tolkien fans reason to salivate today as he posted a 10-minute video tour of New Zealand sets for “The Hobbit” on his Facebook page.
Movie Studios Go After Zediva
Zediva, the online dvd streaming service that launched last month, is facing heat from several major movie studios for trying to bypass licensing fees. What seemed like a clever ruse of posing as an offsite DVD rental store could end up costing the company $150,000 per movie streamed. Germain Lussler breaks down the costly situation here.
“Scream” Returns
It’s been 11 years since Sidney and her friends were last terrorized by the ghost-faced killer in “Scream 3.” The Weinsten Co. is gambling with its fourth installment that audiences are still jonesing for the horror franchise, launched in 1996. John Horn of the LA Times examines the potential impact of “Scream 4” on the horror canon.
Directors React to Cannes Selections
The film world was abuzz today with the announcement of the 2011 Cannes lineup. Pedro Almodovar, among others, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about being part of the world’s best-known film festival.
A Look Back At Cinematic Gimmicks
Audiences are often looking for the “next big thing” when they head to the movies. These days, studios try to lure moviegoers in with the likes of revolutionary CGI, state-of-the-art digital sound and mind-blowing 3D. Back in the day, filmmakers were testing out such tricks as Smell-O-Vision and Pixilation. Matt Patches revisits nine of film history’s more interesting attempts to seduce the masses.
An Apology for “Transformers 2”
There have been some awful, brain-sucking big-Hollywood sequels, but maybe none more so than “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” The reception was so bad that even Michael Bay apologized. At a roundtable discussion, screenwriters Ehren Kruger and Roberto Orci once again offered a mea culpa for their (critically) disastrous sequel.
