BOP Daily News
March 16, 2005
The spirit of BOP News lives on in
This is So Last Week,
our pop culture week-in-review,
presented in a pleasing quiz form.
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Hideo Nakata continues to make a splash on foreign soil. The Japanese import will follow up his Friday release, The Ring Two, by helming a-wait for it-horror film remake. Keep reinventing that wheel, big guy! Nakata, whose prior works include Ringu, Ringu 2, and Dark Water, will direct the American re-make of The Eye. The original Pang Brothers film, which made Angelica Lee an international star, had a gripping concept. A woman in need of an eye transplant received more than she bargained for during the surgery. Unwelcome mystical sights began to haunt her, forcing the no-longer blind girl to retrace the steps of her eye donor. As was the case with Ringu, the new version will be exactly like the old one in every way but it will be in English. BOP never ceases to be amazed by the horror cottage industry that has cropped up because North American audiences are too lazy to read subtitles.
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Looking for some sophomoric hijinks featuring a couple of the comic geniuses responsible for South Park? Paramount certainly is. The problem is that they apparently can't afford Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Instead, they had to settle for the show's script consultant, Pam Brady, and an occasional scribe, Erica Rivinoja. Of course, Brady pulled a writing credit for Team America: World Police and Rivinoja created two episodes of Clone High, one of BOP's favorite underrated series, so we actually love these chicks. Their latest project is cleverly entitled Senior Week, and it tells the story of a frustrated academic. The man struggles through college in order to become valedictorian only to discover the week before graduation that he will not take home this prize. Rather than focus on his frustration, the student determines to go on the bender of all benders, partying enough in his final week to make up for four years of conscientiousness. So, a college student never parties and studies his ass off only to recant the final week of school and change his ways? It's like the Bush Twins college experience in reverse.
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David Wirtschafter discovered the other day what Joss Whedon already knew. Sarah Michelle Gellar does not respond well to people who are not sycophantic to her. Of course, the actress is right to be miffed about this one. It seems that Wirtschafter, the current head of the William Morris Agency, made some comments in the New Yorker which struck a bit of a nerve with our girl Buffy. For no apparent reason other than to stroke his own ego, the president of the agency said that Gellar was "nothing at all" prior to her work on The Grudge. The New York Post's Page Six ran the story Tuesday morning and by lunch, Ms. Gellar had already fired William Morris. She is currently seeking new representation at a competing agency. Meanwhile, Wirtschafter is spending his time waiting to be fired considering which actress to whom he should next be brutally honest. BOP votes for Meg Ryan. Tell her the truth about sleeping with Russell Crowe and having that lip enhancement performed, dude! Let her know she's a real life Norma Desmond now!
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Vinton Studios continues its not-so-gradual move away from television into the world of feature films. The group best known for the forgettable Eddie Murphy TV show, The PJs, grabbed headlines in recent weeks by acquiring rights to Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Vinton also scored a coup by bagging the next Wes Anderson project, The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Their latest get is The Wall and the Wing, a children's novel that Henry Selick of The Nightmare Before Christmas has been contracted to direct. This is a synergistic move by Vinton as their first project which will hit theaters is The Corpse Bride, a Tim Burton production. The animation house's long term goal is to acquire an extended distribution deal similar to the one that Pixar had with Disney. Since history repeats itself, this pretty much seals Robert Iger's fate at the mouse house. Expect him to sign Vinton Studios to a three or four film deal, watch their movies make a mint at the box office and on DVD then chase them away due to a stunning combination of needless frugality and arrogance. I know it sounds crazy, but it's what got Eisner unemployed.
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"Gee, you'd just love a reason to kill him. Wouldn't you? "
Previous edition's quote: Contact
Box Office Prophets offers quality, reliable news about the entertainment industry. BOP is also entertaining. To that end, please be advised that some content in this column is intended to be humorous and should not be considered factual.
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