It’s a random week at the movies when the boys hit he wayback machine to groove with the 1968 cult classic, “Barbarella”.  It’s a slow week for new releases, which forces them to see “The Roommate”.  After moving out of the dorm, the boys take on the upcoming “I Am Number Four”.  Will we hope for a quick death for him?  We’ll see!  All this, an intro to Flickchart, and more random movie news.

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News:

• ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ Sequels Will Be More Expansive
• I’ll be back… The Governator returns to acting,

• Red Sonja remake?

The Past: Barbarella (1968)

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Director: Roger Vadim

Starring: Jane Fonda, John Philip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O’Shea, David Hemmings, Marcel Marceau

Trivia:

• When Virna Lisi was told to play the part of Barbarella, she terminated her contract with United Artists and returned to Italy.
• SoGo, the evil city Barbarella travels to, is a reference to Biblical cities Sodom and Gomorrah.
• Future Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour was one of the session musicians who performed the film’s original score.
• The scenes during the opening credits where Barbarella seems to float around her spaceship were filmed by having Jane Fonda lie on a huge piece of plexiglass with a picture of the spaceship underneath her. It was then filmed from above, creating the illusion that she is in zero gravity. (If you look carefully, you can see the reflection in the glass as she removes her gloves.)
• Anita Pallenberg was dubbed by Joan Greenwood.
• Dildano’s password, “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch”, is the name of a real village in Wales, United Kingdom (unsurprisingly, it’s the longest place name in the UK).
• The names “Stomoxys” and “Glossina”, the Great Tyrant’s nieces, are actually the names of flies. Stomoxys calcitrans is the stable fly, and glossina is the African (or tsetse) fly.
• The film’s missing scientist character famously inspired the band name of 1980s pop stars Duran Duran.
• Barbarella’s costume was inspired by designer Paco Rabanne
• Barbarella was the first science fiction hero from the comics to be adapted into a feature film as opposed to a serial (Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, her male predecessors, had only appeared in serials up to this point).
• This film is listed among The 100 Most Amusingly Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson’s book THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE® MOVIE GUIDE.
• The original author Jean-Claude Forest based the character of Barbarella on Brigitte Bardot – who ironically was director Roger Vadim’s previous wife.
• Sixties sex symbol Raquel Welch turned down the title role.
• When Dildano and Barbarella are speaking to Dr. Ping about the mission and Dildano’s transmission finish, a soprano sings Caro Nome, Rigoletto’s famous aria by Giussepe Verdi.
• In the original comic, Barbarella was not a secret agent but an outlaw, and the movie omits some of the adventures she had on Lythion, including an encounter with an earlier villainess called the Gorgon, whose face changed into a duplicate of the face of anyone who looked at her. Her spaceship is not repaired, so for the duration of the first comic album she is trapped on Lythion.
• There was no Duran Duran and no death ray in the original comic; the city was built around a monster that belched gas through a series of ducts, and the Great Tyrant wore an eye patch even in her true identity.
• Barbarella’s captured mole machine and her encounter with a robot belonging to a deceased rebel that has sexual relations with her are both omitted from the film, although pretty much everything else is very faithful to the comic.
• Italian actor Antonio Sabato was originally cast as Dildano, and set photos exist of him playing the famous ‘hand sex’ scene with Jane Fonda. However his performance was deemed to be too serious and he was replaced, in more comedic tone, by David Hemmings.
• Lobby card stills and set photographs survive, showing footage of a seduction scene between Barbarella and the Black Queen on a bed. However this footage has never appeared in any print of the film.
• Voted “Kinkiest Film of the Year” by Playboy in 1968.

Talking Points:

• What the heck do you think this was about?
• Camp done right?
• As late at February 4, 2011, news about the remake says it is scheduled for a 2012 release, but no director has been announced. Today’s rumors have Anne Hathaway attached for the remake. Also, Jane Fonda has stated she would like to see a sequel rather than a remake, so we’ll see where that goes!

What We’ve Learned:

• If you’re going to pimp out your spaceship, wall to wall shag carpeting is a must! (stroke the furry walls)
• Who knew Marcel Marceau could speak
• Sex is a perfectly acceptable form of payment
• Gotta get me one of those Orgasmatrons
• Gotta Love the 60s

FYI!!!

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: If they do a remake of this, I’m hoping for the continued Austin Powers feel.
Ray: Barbarella..or “How many times can Jane Fonda get naked” Classic…
Steve: It is what it is. So many iconic comments, but let’s be real…it sucks. But it sucks so much, it’s awesome! Honest to goodness camp-fest!

Intermission: Flickchart

The Present: The Roommate

Director: Christian Christiansen

Starring: Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Daneel Harris, Alyson Michalka

Trivia:

• The film was shot on location at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles
• The film was originally planned to be released on September 17, 2010, but was moved to February 4, 2011.
• The reception for The Roommate was unfavorable. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 7%, with an audience score of 46. (OUCH!)
• Some of the promotional posters and displays for the film used as its backdrop the Christy Administration Building from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. The college administration voiced concern that permission to use the photograph of the building was not properly obtained and is currently investigating the legality of its use.
• Primary concerns hinge that the image of the college (particularly the image of the building) could be damaged, while other concerns are that the college’s primary iconic image is being used for promotion of an unrelated business venture.
• Leighton Meester was originally set to play Sara but was replaced by Minka Kelly, then Meester took the role of Rebecca

Talking Points:

• Before I get bitched out…what else was released last Friday?
• Did this film do anything new?
• Anyone think the end scene was a ripoff of poltergeist?
• Opportunity for learning!

What We Learned:

• Always ask your roommate if she’s taking anti-psychotics
• At a frat party.. the punch is always spiked…duh
• Kittens are dry-clean only
• Beauty is in the eye of the designer
• We’d do what is necessary to get in Billy Zane’s class 😉
• Fashion fades, but style is eternal

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I hate you, Steven
Ray: to put it simply.. hated it.
Steve: I didn’t hate it, so nah! I liked all the college and student housing references. I may show it to my students to discuss how to handle roommate conflicts appropriately.

The Future: I Am Number Four

Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Kevin Durand

Trivia:

• Will be released in IMAX
• The film is based on the novel I Am Number Four, written by Jobie Hughes and James Frey, with an adapted screenplay by Al Gough, Miles Millar, and Marti Noxon.
• Produced by Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg through DreamWorks
• The rights were purchased with the hope of attracting teenage fans of the Twilight saga films, and the potential of establishing a film franchise, with at least six more installments planned by the book’s publisher.
• Filming began on May 17, 2010, using 20 locations all within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Additional filming took place in the Florida Keys.
• A cast tour, in association with American retailer Hot Topic, and cast media appearances are scheduled to lead up to the release of the film.
• I Am Number Four is being edited by Jim Page, with Industrial Light & Magic developing the visual effects for the alien creatures.

Talking Points:

• Anything new?
• Glee crossover? Can it be advertised more during the show?

Summary:
John is an extraordinary teen, masking his true identity and passing as a typical high school student to elude a deadly enemy seeking to destroy him. Three like him have already been killed … he is Number Four.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Interested to see, but not expecting too much.
Ray: Not sure the casting is going to work.. but interested to see it.
Steve: Looks interesting…kiss of death?

Coming Attractions:
The Past

The Present

The Future

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