Despite being listed as Reel 65 on iTunes, this is the 66th Reel of COL Movies! We recorded a whole show that was lost out there in cyberland. /cry. But moving forward, the boys head into the ethos and land in Maine where they join the people trying to survive Stephen King’s “The Mist”. Heading to the theater, they check out the excellent, yet controversial, civil rights era film “The Help”. In trailer news, they dissect Nolan’s final Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises”. In news, they talk about a possible “Blade Runner” reboot, more “Man of Steel” news, the fate of “The Lone Ranger”, and are you ready for another “Austin Powers” movie, baby? Welcome to Reel 66…where today’s word is…expiation!

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News:

• Ridley Scott signs on to direct a new Blade Runner movie?
• Man of Steel official plot synopsis revealed
• The Lone Ranger Cancelled
• New Austin Powers movie on the way.

The Past: The Mist
Rotten Tomatoes: 73% Fresh 64% Audience

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Directors: Frank Darabont

Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden

Trivia:

• This isn’t William Sadler’s first time with The Mist. He played David Drayton in an audio version of the story.
• To help save time on the tight schedule, the producers and director Frank Darabont hired the camera crew from The Shield, to shoot the film. This camera crew is able to move fast, due to the hectic TV production schedule. There was an “A” and a “B” unit, which cut down on production time.
• In the opening shot of the film, David is painting in his room. The picture he’s drawing is a design from Stephen King’s Dark Tower series of the gunslinger Roland. Another design in the room is that of the poster of John Carpenter’s The Thing. John Carpenter also wrote and directed The Fog, which shares obvious themes with The Mist.
• Besides the Gunslinger illustration at the beginning of the film, The Mist shares another direct connection to the Dark Tower series of novels, written by Stephen King. This is the line “My life for you,” spoken by Mrs. Carmody. This has been said by a number of villainous characters in the Dark Tower books, who had sworn allegiance to Walter o’Dim, one of the major antagonists. (Walter o’Dim made his first appearance in several earlier King novels, one the first being The Eyes of the Dragon, under the alias Randall Flagg, and the line is spoken there as well.) The Mist is one of the first short stories to refer to cross reference the Dark Tower. That same line, “My life for you,” is used by Trashcan in The Stand movie as well as the book. This is also a reference made to Randall Flagg although in a different book.
• During an action scene in the film, a man runs into a wire rotating-book shelf in the grocery store. If you look carefully, you can clearly see that all the books on the shelf are written by Stephen King.
• When the group is in the next-door pharmacy, David (Thomas Jane) can be seen taking a comic book as promised for his son – an issue of “Hellboy”. Later in real life, Jane directed the comicbook movie Dark Country which starred Ron Perlman, the star of the movie version of Hellboy
• Frank Darabont agreed to make the film with Dimension only under the condition that no matter what, they wouldn’t change the scripted ending. They agreed.
• Director Frank Darabont originally wanted the film shown in black and white. The 2-disc DVD release contains Darabont’s black and white version on the second disc.
• The pharmacy next to the Food House store is called “King’s Pharmacy”, most likely a reference to author Stephen King. Coincidentally, Stephen King himself once had a cameo as a pharmacist in the film adaptation of his novel Thinner.
• The Dark Tower poster being worked on by David Drayton was actually painted by Drew Struzan, an artist famous for his movie posters. (Star Wars, Indiana Jones franchise, Harry Potter franchise, The Thing, Blade Runner, etc.) All of the posters in the studio at the beginning of the film were painted by Struzan, as was the film poster for this film.
• Despite the setting in Maine, the film was shot entirely in Minden, Louisiana. To Frank Darabont’s delight, Stephen King could not distinguish it from Maine when watching the film
• Thomas Jane sat in for a better part of the editing process, since he was interested to learn about it.
• When David grabs a comic from the rack in the pharmacy, you can clearly see an issue of “The Goon” towards the bottom. Eric Powell, the creator of this comic, is shown on the special features as a friend of Frank Darabont and crew for the day.
• Director Frank Darabont wanted to cast Stephen King in a supporting role, but King turned his offer down. The role eventually went to Brian Libby.
• In the pharmacy scene, when David Drayton is collecting a comic book for his son, Frank Darabont proposed to Thomas Jane that he should grab a copy “The Punisher: War Journal” since Jane played the Punisher three years earlier. Jane declined because he had a falling out with the producers of the The Punisher franchise and decided not to return for the sequel. He instead grabs an issue of “HellBoy” as a shout out to friend Ron Perlman.
• Intially developed at Paramount.
• Shot in the six-week hiatus of The Shield with its cinematographer, two camera operators, their editor and the script supervisor, all of whom the director has worked with when he directed episodes of the show.
• The first film Frank Darabont has made that is set in the present, barring the opening and closing scenes in The Green Mile.
• The third film Frank Darabont has adapted from Stephen King’s work. The other two are The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.
• Frances Sternhagen’s second appearance in a Stephen King film adaptation. The first was Misery.
• Frank Darabont’s shortest film to date.
• Shot in 37 days.
• Stephen King says that he was genuinely frightened by this adaption of his novel; Frank Darabont described that as the happiest moment of his career.
• Norm is wearing a T-Shirt from WKIT Radio in Bangor, Maine. This is one of three radio stations owned by Stephen King.
• The partially toppled highway sign towards the end of the film is an actual sign on Interstate 295 in Falmouth, Maine, on the southbound side of the highway (a little north of the Falmouth Spur).
• This is Thomas Jane’s second Stephen King movie. He played Henry in Dreamcatcher.
• David calls his son “Big Bill”, a reference to the character Bill Denbrough from Stephen King’s ‘It’. Bill Denbrough’s nickname was also “Big Bill”
• Spoilers
• The trivia items below may give away important plot points.
• According to Cinefex magazine, there is a favorite scene near the end of the book that was not in the script. In the scene, David Dreyton and the others with him in the vehicle, witness a giant, 6-legged behemoth walk over them. Darabont originally had excised this scene from his script. However, several of the people working with the special effects company CafeFX, convinced him to put it back into the film.
• WILHELM SCREAM: When Cornell dies.
• Frank Darabont originally wrote an opening scene showing the military scientist referenced to by Private Jessup accidentally opening the dimension portal that allows the creatures and the mist to enter our world. Over dinner, Andre Braugher questioned Darabont whether this scene was necessary. After thinking about it for a week, Darabont was convinced to scrap the scene, leaving the nature of the mist more ambiguous.
• Frank Darabont’s “controversial” ending actually comes directly from Stephen King’s source material. Written in first-person, David entertains this notion in his mind as a distant possibility, noting there are three bullets and four people (Dan Miller doesn’t make it to the car in the novella), but he ends his journal and leaves it in a restaurant the survivors have sought refuge in before the car runs out of gas. Darabont felt this ending was too ambiguous and wrote the story to its finite climax, and ending that Darabont says in the DVD commentary was endorsed by King as the ending King wished he would have thought of.
• When the hacked-off piece of tentacle is poked in the loading dock, it sizzles, turns black, and melts into a puddle of black goo. This process is exactly what happens to the bizarre creatures that appear in Stephen King’s novel “From a Buick 8”. Those creatures also were speculated to have come from another dimension, possibly the same one.
• Amanda has an empty six-shot revolver and two full speed-loaders in her purse. This means there are twelve rounds of ammunition for the revolver. During the course of the movie, exactly twelve rounds are fired before the revolver is out of ammunition.

Talking Points:

• People call this a “monster movie”. Is it? Or more of a “hero”/close scare/dark scare? What would you say?
• The Post 9/11 Allegory
• Frank Darabont – he likes things with the word The in the title.
• Director/Writer/Producer – The Walking Dead
• Writer/Director – The Green Mile
• Writer/Director – The Shawshank Redemption
• Director – The Majestic
• Writer – The Blob
• Writer – The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

What We’ve Learned:

• There’s no court of appeals in hell
• Just because you’re a lawyer doesn’t mean you’re helpful in a disaster situation.
• If you scare people bad enough they will turn to anyone who offers them a solution
• Don’t use flaming mops as a defensive strategy unless you’re in the desert.
• As a species we are fundamentally insane

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff:.This movie is fine. Well put together, good story, tragic ending. Recommend a look see, but not something for my movie collection at least.
Ray: An ok Survival/Horror flick saved by an awesome ending.
Steve: Such a good movie! Does a great job mixing the odd elements with down home people/situations. The ending is another Se7en-style surprise that just wrenches you in the gut.

Intermission: Flickchart

The Present: The Help
Rotten Tomatoes: 74% Fresh 93% Audience

Director: Tate Taylor

Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spenser

Trivia:

• Melissa Molinaro auditioned for the role of Celia Foote.
• Costars Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard have both played Gwen Stacy in a Spider-Man movie.
• The book store in the film, Avent & Clark Booksellers, was named after Avent Clark, a production assistant on the film from Greenwood, MS.
• Jessica Chastain, a vegan, ate soy ice cream melted in the microwave to gain weight for the role of Celia Foote.
• Kathryn Stockett’s book on which this film is based was rejected 60 times before it was eventually published.

Talking Points:

• Who was the audience in the theater? Did you hear/see much about this before going?
• Not being so well received everywhere
• “Stereotyping”
• The Lawsuit

What We Learned:

• You is smart
• You is Kind
• You is Important
• Write about what disturbs you, particularly if it bothers no one else.
• Crisco is the most important invention since they put mayonnaise in a jar.
• Love and hate are two horns on the same goat.
• Oysters are a vehicle for crackers and ketchup
• Courage sometimes skips a generation
• I will never ever look at chocolate pie quite the same way again.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Wait? 2 hours and 26 minutes? Really? I didn’t even notice. This is definitely a go see movie. I can’t recommend it enough.
Ray: There was not one part of this movie I disliked. This runs the gamut from funny, to tearjerker. Sure its filled with stereotypes, but if it gets enough people in the theaters perhaps it can get people talking about the overall message the film is trying to convey.
Steve: Just a damn good movie. Looks like a chick-flick, but is just a good look at life at that time in Mississippi. There is some funny that helps us see positive in the negative of the time. But a good inspirational story about people taking a stand toward change.

The Future: The Dark Knight Rises

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman

Trivia:

• Doug Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Tennant, Johnny Depp, Neil Patrick Harris, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie, Leonardo DiCaprio, and James Franco were all rumored to play the Riddler before it was confirmed that the character would not appear in the film.
• In May 2010, director Christopher Nolan stated that the Joker will not return in this film. He previously stated that Mr. Freeze and the Penguin would not be in the film either. Later it was confirmed that The Riddler would not appear either.
• The last installment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series.
• Christopher Nolan is the first person to direct more than two Batman feature films.
• Christian Bale has stated that he would not play Batman if Robin appeared anywhere in the trilogy. Christopher Nolan agreed not to include Robin as it would undermine the dark tone of his series.
• Christian Bale is the first live action actor to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne in three Batman films. Kevin Conroy has played the character in seven animated films as of 2011 (including Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker).
• Cinematographer Wally Pfister has expressed interest in shooting the entirety of the film in the IMAX format, as both Pfister and Christopher Nolan have expressed distaste for shooting the film in 3-D.
• Anne Hathaway, Eva Green, Blake Lively, Charlize Theron, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, Gemma Arterton, Kate Mara, Charlotte Riley and Keira Knightley all auditioned for the role of Selina Kyle. After the initial audition process, Hathaway, Green, Biel and Mara all screen tested. Ultimately, Hathaway won the role.
• Christopher Nolan is the second person to direct a trilogy of superhero movies, after Sam Raimi (Spider-Man).
• Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz and Marion Cotillard were considered to play the love interest of Bruce Wayne. Cotillard won the role.
• Robin Williams was rumored to play the role of Hugo Strange.
• There was much speculation in the press when Anne Hathaway was announced as Selina Kyle if the actress would actually portray Kyle’s costumed alter-ego, Catwoman. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey following her stint as host of the Academy Awards, Hathaway let slip that her character indeed would don the Catwoman costume.
• It was reported by Gary Oldman that Christopher Nolan told the actors the ending of the film verbally to avoid any leaks.
• This film contains direct references to the “Knightfall” saga in the comic books, where Bane spreads chaos in Gotham in order to lure and weaken Batman, and break him. It also references the “Legacy” and “Bane of the Demon” storylines, where Bane meets Ras Al Ghul, and both have their own visions of becoming immortal and dominant.
• One of the reasons why Christopher Nolan cast Tom Hardy as Bane, was because of his performance in the titular role in Bronson. Hardy stated that he took up the same training regime for both roles.
• Around 10,000 extras were used to shoot the Gotham Rogues scene in Heinz Field. Some of the Pittsburgh Steelers played football players, including Hines Ward, who played himself.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: I’m excited for this movie even without the trailer. Sad that it’ll be the last Nolanverse Batman, but hey . . . in anycase, this trailer just didn’t get me excited. It’s just a teaser, want to see the real trailer next year.
Ray: I hope they break him… for good.
Steve: Bane!! YUM. Otherwise, just looks like another Nolan Batman movie. I’m not a Christian Bale Batman guy…so I don’t get jacked to see him.

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