[Trailer] Coffee Town
http://youtu.be/MagOLStZWvs
CollegeHumor has been arguably one of the destinations for online comedy for years. I remember watching all of the Derrick Comedy videos years back before Donald Glover won everybody over with his hilarious portrayal of Troy Barnes on Community (let alone taking us to Camp as Childish Gambino). With a series of funny video shorts under their belt, the brand is ready to take the next step in entertainment: films. CollegeHumor is teaming up with independent movie distributor FilmBuff for its feature-length film debut, Coffee Town.
Starring It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Glenn Howerton, Coffee Town is about Howerton's Will, a website manager whose "office" is a table at a local coffee house. However, when the cafe begins plans to grow into a bistro, threatening Will's entire business, he enlists the aid from his friends (Parks and Recreation's Ben Schwartz and Eastbound & Down's Steve Little) to stage a break-in at the cafe in an attempt to sway investors away from the neighborhood.
Coffee Town is looking really funny, which honestly can't be said for most film trailers. Hopefully, the best jokes weren't featured in this first look at the film, which will be released on digital platforms July 9th with CollegeHumor-hosted limited theatrical screenings throughout North America before it debuts at Montreal's Just for Laughs festival on July 27th.
You can watch the trailer in full HD on iTunes Movie Trailers.
Benicio del Toro cast in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Whoa! Huge news out of the Disney and Marvel camps as Deadline is reporting that Benicio del Toro (Traffic) has been cast for Marvel's upcoming space epic, Guardians of the Galaxy. The James Gunn (Super) film is shaping up to be Marvel Studios' next big ensemble film. Just this weekend, Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan was cast for a villain role in the action-comedy about a group of space superheroes.
While there's no word on which role del Toro will portray, he's joining a pool of ridiculously talented actors, such as Glenn Close (Damages), Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation), Zoe Saldana (Avatar), John C. Reilly (Chicago), Lee Pace (The Hobbit), and others. Further news also have del Toro penning a multi-film deal, which will set him up for future film appearances along other notable Marvel stars as Robert Downey, Jr, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Natalie Portman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cobie Smulders (amongst others, of course).
As if Marvel didn't already have a large handle on superhero film adaptations, del Toro's casting helps cement their status. Looks like Warner Bros. and DC will have to do a lot if they want to get even close to Marvel Studio's pedigree.
[via Deadline]
[Trailer] Wara No Tate (Shield of Straw)
http://youtu.be/NX52yaQ_CIo
My introduction to Takashi Miike started off on the wrong foot. A classmate of mine lent me Audition, emphasizing just how talented the director was. Of course, Audition ended up being a gruesome horror film... from what I heard; I admittedly didn't make it past the first 20 minutes due to the intensity of the film. My next encounter with the beloved director, Ichi the Killer, went way better (and if you haven't seen Ichi the Killer, do it right now, this very second). Since then, Takashi Miike has had his American cult following grow even more with films like Sukiyaki Western: Django, 13 Assassins, and Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai.
With the trailer for his new film, Wara No Tate (Shield of Straw), Takashi takes his own spin on the vigilante genre. As the plot goes, Kunihide Kiyomaru (played by Battle Royale's Tatsuya Fujiwara) confesses to the murder of a 7-year old girl. In an act of revenge, the girl's grandfather puts out a public message: 1 billion Yen for the murder of Kiyomaru. With the entire population thrown into a chaotic frenzy, the police must protect the alleged murderer from desperate vigilantes so he can face proper justice.
Outside of the cheesy J-Pop music, Wara No Tate is looking amazing. There's no word on a US release date yet, but considering it's already been released in Japan, I suspect a fall date should be within reason.
Penelope Cruz is Bond 24's girl
After all of the shenanigans that surrounded the director possibilities for the next James Bond film, from Christopher Nolan being offered to a multitude of interesting choices to Sam Mendes officially returning to the franchise, the stage is setting for 007. We already knew that Daniel Craig would be returning as the secret agent, but now his femme fatale counterpart has been found.
Yahoo! Movies UK is reporting that the Spanish bombshell Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) will be the Bond girl in the next film. This should be a great step in the right direction for the franchise, considering Cruz's acting versatility should mesh well with Craig's. It's also interesting to note that Cruz will become the oldest "Bond Girl" as she'll be turning 40 by the start of production. Of course, age is just a number, especially when it comes to Penelope. Bond producers must love keeping it in the family, as Cruz's husband, Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), was the antagonist for the most recent Bond film, Skyfall.
[via Yahoo! Movies UK]
The Weekly Swarm: 5/27 - 6/1
We had a steady influx of music drops this week, didn't we? Shintendo64 dropped TERRABYTZ, De la Soul made their video return with "Get Away," Vic Mensa teased and dropped the "Orange Soda" video, Sir Michael Rocks finally released While You Wait..., GhostWridah got into the mixtape fun with Flu Game, and Sulaiman and Vic Spencer dropped their collaborative EP, We're Still Disappointed, and ShowYouSuck debuted a new sound with "Watching Walking Dead" (with some pretty amazing artwork, right?). We also had a collection of great movie trailers debut, including Machete Kills, This is the End, and Prisoners.
Needless to say, it was a busy week, so if you missed out on every post we put up, you can easily check down the list below.
Movie News
New Directors Added into the James Bond 24 Mix
Sam Mendes Will Direct Bond 24 After All
[Video] Much Ado About Nothing "I am an Ass" Clip
Michael Bay Woke Up in a New Bugatti for New Transformers 4 Car Models
[Trailer] Machete Kills
[Trailer] This is the End
[Trailer] Prisoners
Nicolas Cage, Jackie Chan, Milla Jovovich, and Wesley Snipes Become Not So Expendable for The Expendables 3
Forest Whitaker Will Have a Dream as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis
Green Lantern Screenwriter Hired to Ruin Blade Runner Sequel
New Alamo Drafthouse "Don't Talk" PSA features Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Music News
Schoolboy Q: "Hell Of A Night"
Roman Flowrs: "RainFore$t" (Instrumental)
Blu: “Summertime” (feat. Arima Ederra)
[Mixtape] ShowYouSuck: "The Essentials"
[Podcast] Closed Sessions Radio 5.24.13
Disclosure: "You & Me" (feat. Eliza Doolittle) (Toro y Moi Remix)
WHITE-OWL: "WAX TRAP VOL. 3 (TURNT UP EDITION)"
LIZ: "Horoscope"
Lil Bibby & Lil Herb: "Know They Role" (prod. by C-Sick)
[Mixtape] Shintendo64: "TERRABYTZ"
[Video] Alex Wiley: "Earfucked"
Spring Awakening Schedule and Daily Tickets Available
Craig Robinson: "Take Yo Panties Off" (feat. Snoop Dogg)
[Video] Wonda: "Please Don’t Listen To This Song"
[Video] Saba: "Gurlfran"
[Video] Lucki Eck$: "Everything Out$ide"
Manny P: "This Is Where" (prod. by Savier)
[Video] De La Soul: "Get Away" (feat. The Spirit of Wu Tang)
[Mixtape] Sir Michael Rocks: "While You Wait..."
More Artists Added to North Coast Music Festival Lineup
[Mixtape] GhostWridah: "Flu Game"
Martin $ky: "Rapture" SNIPPET (prod. by Saba)
[Video] Vic Mensa: "Orange Soda"
Hodgy Beats: "Years"
J. Cole: "N***az Know"
[Mixtape] Sulaiman x Vic Spencer: "We're Still Disappointed"
[Video] YP: "I Like That In You"
[Video] L.atasha A.lcindor: "Down to Earth Thoughts"
Mick Jenkins: "BOB" (feat. Dally Auston) (Prod. by OnGaud)
ShowYouSuck: "Watching Walking Dead" (feat. Chris LeSage) (prod. by MikeJaxx)
Roman Flowrs: "Rock With Me"
Photography
[RH Photos] Anamanaguchi (Live at Lincoln Hall 5/25/2013)
[RH Photos] Jambalaya Fest Austin (5/24/2013)
[RH Photos] Impolite Society (Live at Double Door 5/24/2013)
Tech News
Google Adds New Video Features to YouTube Videos
New Alamo Drafthouse "Don't Talk" PSA features Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
To commemorate the theatrical release of Richard Linklater's Before Midnight, one of my Top 10 Summer Movies, the film's stars Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke recorded a "Don't Talk" PSA for the Alamo Drafthouse. For those who haven't been to a Drafthouse, which are primarily located in Texas, but have a few locations across the country, they talk movies very seriously. While food and drinks are served during the film, they have an intensely strict policy on phone use and talking during screenings. If you're caught using your phone or talking too loudly twice, you'll be kicked out with no refund offered. Like I said, serious stuff.
The series of "Don't Talk" PSAs are tongue-in-cheek videos that play prior to each screening to ensure people are following the rules. Some of them are outright hilarious, including this one of a voicemail left by an angry Drafthouse attendee who somehow wasn't aware of the rules. I'm waiting for the day for a Drafthouse to expand to Chicago. Until then, I'll have my memories of SXSW and these PSAs to tide me over.
[youtube id="YZhbZAW_Zp0" mode="normal" align="center"]
[via Flixist]
Green Lantern Screenwriter Hired to Ruin Blade Runner Sequel
Philip K. Dick is one of the most storied science-fiction authors ever. A large number of sci-fi films, from Minority Report to A Scanner Darkly to The Adjustment Bureau were adapted from Philip K. Dick stories. The most famous and successful of the Dick adaptations, Blade Runner, has become a huge cult film transcending the typical sci-fi audience over the 30 years it's been out.
However, with Ridley Scott, who directed the original Blade Runner, set to go forward with a sequel, the film's legacy could risk becoming tarnished. Look at what happened with last year's Prometheus, which was a quasi-prequel/reboot of Alien, another Ridley Scott film: It raised more questions than it answered and added even more confusion to an already convoluted Alien mythology. What's more, the Blade Runner series of books that the upcoming sequel might be based off of weren't written by Dick, but a friend of his (with approval, of course), which lacked the charm and wit that only Dick possessed.
Adding more salt to the wound is the hiring of Michael Green, one of the many screenwriters credited for the abomination that was DC's Green Lantern film, to rewrite the film's script. Granted, with so many people hired to work on that script, it could be possible that Green didn't have much influence on the final product. Still, Green Lantern isn't exactly one of the best films to have on somebody's resume, especially when it comes to handling such a beloved film as Blade Runner.
Blade Runner 2: Son of Blade Runner is still years away, so there's the possibility that fortunes can be turned around and it could match the level of amazement its precursor did. I'd advise not to hold your breaths for that to happen, though.
[via /Film]
Forest Whitaker Will Have a Dream as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis
With a varied filmography from Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai to The King's Speech, which garnered him the Oscar for Best Actor, Forest Whitaker has become one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. That versatility will be put to the test in an upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic, Memphis. Directed by Philip Greengrasss (The Bourne Ultimatum), the script follows the last years of MLK's life leading up to his final rally in the titular Memphis.
Memphis has been in development hell for years due to being dropped by Universal and losing support from King's family. However, the project will become a strictly independent film, meaning it will have a lower budget and possibly finding distribution through a smaller studio. However, with Whitaker's name attached to the project, it should be green-lit and fast tracked towards production.
With rumors of a separate MLK film in discussion with DreamWorks (with the support of King's family), it'll be interesting to see who'll be cast as King for that film. Personally, with no scheduling conflicts, I think Terrence Howard would make a perfect MLK. What do you guys think? Is Whitaker the right actor to portray King, Jr? Or would you rather have seen a different actor in the role?
[via /Film]