1. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (Touchstone, 1,271 Theaters, 76 Minutes, Rated G): Yes, there is one juggernaut of a movie this week. One film that will rule the box office> Madea? She’s going to wish she is really is in jail? Jason? Sweating behind his hockey mask. Slumdog Millionaire? That Oscar will do you no good.

Yes, the overwhelming popularity of the tween audience will make these three quasi-talented brothers dominate the weekend box office, if the performance of  Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds is any indication.

If you are an adult, with no 12 year old daughters, this will mean nothing to you. But the Disney-riffic singers have the youth of this country whipped up into a frenzy. I don’t know why, I just hope the fad passes before my daughter enters her pre-teens.

2. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (Fox, 1,136 Theaters, 96 Minutes, Rated PG-13): I just realized that this week has two films with pretty long titles. Man, this must wreak havoc with any theater that still has a marquee. I’d imagine they’re probably going to be running out of letters.

So, it’s gotten to the point that are doing franchise reboots of video game properties. I’m not a bible scholar, but I think that might be a sign of the apocalypse.

There is some differences from the 1994 Jean Claude Van Damme Street Fighter. This one seems less camptastic than that one. It also features a pretty intriguing cast, including one, honest to goodness Oscar nominee in the cast (although Michael Clarke Duncan might have just worn away all the luster from that fact by his post The Green Mile film choices). It also focuses on a select few characters from the video game, with Chun-Li, personified by Smallville‘s Kristin Kreuk, being the focus.

If his quick cameo at the end of last summer’s Iron Man was enough to leave you wanting to see more of Samuel L. Jackson as spymaster Nick Fury, than you have a lot to look forward to. Marvel Studios has signed an amazing nine picture deal to play the character in their ongoing series of superhero films.

Jackson’s post-credit appearance in Iron Man was the first step in a multi-film plan to weave several comic book adaptations into a larger, shared universe tapestry. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jackson will appear in the previously announced Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and Avengers films which will role out in the summers of 2010 and 2011, as well as a film focusing on the spy agency that Fury heads, S.H.I.E.L.D.

This is an unexpected, but certainly welcome, announcement. Last month, it had appeared that Marvel and Jackson were not able to come to terms about the actor’s continued participation as Nick Fury. Perhaps mentioning the negotiation difficulties was Jackson’s way of getting fan sentiment on his side. No matter what, I’m glad to see that Marvel came to their senses and struck a deal with the actor. When Jackson stepped out of the shadows at the end of Iron Man to approach Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) about a project called “The Avengers Initiative” you could feel the excitement rip through the opening night audience in the theater where I saw the film. To not follow through on the process of Jackson appearaing in future films would be a disappointment.

Of course, the amount of Jackson’s participation in each film remains undetermined. While he could have significant screen time in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, his appearances in Captain America and Thor could be more of a cameo in nature as those films are expected to be primarily set away from the contemporary setting of Iron Man and The Avengers.

The other four films that Jackson could appear in remain undetermined. They could be further installments of some of Marvel’s current films like Iron Man or Avengers, or they could be in films introducing new Marvel Comics characters to the big screen.

Up until now, not a whole lot has been known about Judd Apatow’s upcoming film Funny People. We did know that Adam Sandler and Jason Schwartzman were joining Apatow regulars Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill as a group of standup comedians. From the trailer below, it looks as if there might be a little more drama in Funny People than in his previous films. If Apatow is looking to expand the scope of what type of movie he makes, more power to him. Hopefully, he can keep some of the plotlines shown in the trailer from coming off as too mawkish or sugary sentimental.

But the big question is will fans welcome the shift in tone or be disappointed?

Funny People hits screens July 31.

Director Gore Verbinski has been picked by Universal to develop a new film based on the Hasbro murder mystery board game Clue. The game was previously turned into a film in 1985 with an ensemble cast featuring Tim Curry, Martin Mull, Christopher Lloyd and Madeline Khan. No screenwriter has been hired yet.

The original film version of Clue had the unenviable task of translating a board game into an entertaining movie. But director Jonathan Lynn, with some help from John Landis on the script, managed to do just that, turning the whodunit plotline of the game into a frenetic, screwball comedy. Preserving the concept that the game could have multiple resolutions to its mystery, the film was released with three different endings, which ending audiences saw depended on what theater they went to. I remember having to travel almost 45 minutes to see Clue at a different theater just to see one of the two endings that weren’t attached to the print screening locally. It wasn’t until the film was released on home video later that most people got to see all three endings. (There was also a fourth ending which was reportedly filmed, but has never been released.)

Clue’s manufacturer, Hasbro, has been farming out a lot of their toy and game properties for films lately. In addition to the Transformers and GI Joe toy lines that have been translated into big budget summer movies, they also have their Stretch Armstrong toy and the board games Candyland, Monopoly and Ouija currently in development.

Recently Hasbro revamped the game, updating many of the classic, Victorian-era elements to the 21^st century. Now, Mr. Plum is a billionaire video game designer, Ms. White is a former child star and Col. Mustard is a washed-up football player. I imagine that this is the version they will probably go with for this new film. That’s fine with me. The further they distance themselves from the original, the less this new version will suffer in comparison.

Via Variety.

Howard Zieff, the director of such comedies as Private Benjamin, Unfaithfully Yours and My Girl, has passed away this past Saturday, February 21, 2009 in Los Angeles from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 81.

Zieff came to films after a distinguished career as a top advertising print photographer and television commercial director, where he developed his flair for comedy in many of the campaigns he worked on. He also had a good idea for up-and-coming talent, having cast pre-fame Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Richard Dreyfuss in various commercials.

In the early 1970s, Zieff left advertising and headed from New York City to Hollywood. His feature directorial debut was the 1973 light-hearted crime caper Slither with James Caan, Peter Boyle and Sally Kellerman. He followed its moderate success with Hearts Of The West (1975) with Jeff Bridges and House Calls (1978) with Walther Matthau. For 1979′s The Main Event, Zieff reunited stars Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neil, whoi had had a big hit in 1972 with What’s Up, Doc?.

Zieff’s biggest success came with 1980′s Private Benjamin, which starred Goldie Hawn as a woman widowed on her wedding night who impulsively joins the Army with disastrous results. Best remembered for her character’s sparring with a drill sergeant played by Eileen Brennan, Hawn would receive an Academy Award nomination for her work in the film. Both Private Benjamin and House Calls would be spun off as short-lived television series, though Zieff was not involved with either endeavor.

For the 1984 Dudley Moore-starring Unfaithfully Yours, Zieff found himself remaking Preston Sturges’ 1948 original to mixed results. Zieff would draw on his advertising background for the 1989 Michael Keaton comedy The Dream Team.

His final two films were the 1991 coming-of-age dramedy My Girl and its 1994 sequel, My Girl 2.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry has been tapped to direct the upcoming Green Hornet film according to Production Weekly.

Recently, Hong Kong action director Stephen Chow walked away from the project which is set to star Seth Rogen as Britt Reid, dashing millionaire newspaper publisher who fights crime as the masked Green Hornet. Reid is assisted by his valet Kato. The hero started off life as a popular radio series in the 1930s but has found continued life in a movie serial, comics and a short-lived television series in the 1960s that is best remembered for introducing Bruce Lee to American audiences. Created by the same producer who created the Lone Ranger, Britt Reid was eventually revealed to be the grand-nephew of that famous masked lawman. How much of this lore remains in Rogen’s script is unknown.

Although no start date for filming has been announced, it should be fairly soon if the picture hopes to make its announced release date of July 25, 2010.

The corn has been popped, the soda chilled and some idiot is going on about designer dresses on ABC’s pre-Oscar Red Carpet coverage can only mean that once again, we’ll be live blogging the Academy Awards. Keep refreshing for updates!

8:09- Who cares how many times a Valentino gown has been on an actress winning an Oscar?

8:13- Sherlock Holmes is going to be “darn swell” according to RDjr. There’s your poster quote right there.

8:20- Love the Accountant montage! The Crimson Permanent Assurance!

8:24- Every question on the red carpet is about designers! This is the downplaying of the glitz and glamor?!

8:26- Slimmed down Seth Rogen in a tux has just convinced me he could play Britt Reid in The Green Hornet.

8:30- And awaayyy we go! Loving the art deco look of the stage.

8:33- And the show already falls flat with Jackman’s song… Ugh.

8:36- Jackman is no Billy Crystal (And neither was Crystal some years.) Bring back David Letterman!!!

8:38- AND he works in a plug for the Wolverine flick. At least this is now over.

8:40- Was that a screwup with the curtain?

8:43- Five best supporting actress winners to present? Nice!

8:47- The first Oscar of the evening goes to Penelope Cruz! (And that puts that “leaked Oscar winners” list in the realm of hoax.)

8:53- Steve Martin always is a good presenter. Dependably funny all the way back to the 70s. (Was that a slam on Scientology? “No one wants to hear about our religion… that we just made up.”

8:56- Loving how they visualized screenplay writing.

8:57- Best Original Screenplay to Milk!

8:59- “Don’t fall in love with me!” Martin and Fey need to make a movoie together.

9:01- Adapted Screenplay winner is Slumdog Millionaire! First of a run tonight?

9:03- And Jennifer Aniston flubs her line.

9:06- And the Best Animated Feature Oscar goes to WALL-E. No surprise there.

9:08- At this rate, PIXAR is going to have a build a wing on to their building to house all their Oscars.

9:10- And the Animated Short Film Oscar goes to La Maison De Petits Cubes. (Director is struggling with English and looks totally gobsmacked! Whips out the only Japanese everyone knows- “Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto!”)

9:16- And Daniel Craig steps on Sarah Jessica Parker’s dress. Smooth move James Bond.

9:18- Art Direction- Benjamin Button.

9:19- And they are the first people to be played off.

9:21- Costume Design- The Duchess. Will this guy get played off?

9:23- Nope, he manages to wrap it up.

9:24- Makeup to Benjamin Button? Should have gone to either Dark Knight or Hellboy 2….

9:25- Rattling off names=Crappy Oscar acceptance speech.

9:26- Emo boy from Twilight is disappearing into curtain in background.

9:29- Didn’t really love the romance montage…

9:31- Ben Stiller rocks!!! (And we really should have had Letterman as host!)

9:34- And the Cinematography Oscar goes to Slumdog Millionaire. That’s two.

9:37- I am really like the conceit of taking the awards through the production process. Of course, it leaves a lot of the tech awards lumped in the middle.

9:42- And now a montage of movies that the Academy routinely ignores- comedies!

9:44- Rogen and Franco laughing at the ultra-drama serious nominees is evil! (In a good way!)

9:47- Best Live Action Short Film goes to Toyland.

9:49- Going to commercial, the tease for the upcoming Best Supporting Actor award had a definite “We know you want to see if the dead guy wins” vibe to it.

9:54- I was almost liking this musical bit until Hugh Jackman started belting out songs from Grease… yikes! This is a terrible arrangement.

9:56- The High School Musical kids should not be allowed in the same zip code as the Oscars. “Mama Mia” as a drumline piece? I can’t believe I’m longing for the days when Snow White got dirty danced by Rob Lowe.

9:58- Oh, Baz Luhrman created that monstrosity. That explains it.

10:06- Michael Shannon is just a great actor. Why haven’t more people seen Shotgun Stories?

10:08- Ledger gets the Oscar. No surprise. His parents and sister are accepting. This will be emotional. (And the family gets a standing ovation.)

10:12- Best Documentary. I like how they have the directors talking about their craft.

10:14- Love Nill Maher’s tux. Narrow labels, very 50s.

10:16- And The Oscar goes to- Man On Wire. No surprise there, really. Ha! I love the slight of hand!

10:17- Documentary Short Subject- Smile Pinki.

10:20- 14 categories down, 9 to go…

10:25- Will Smith “I love action movies!” Then why have your last couple of ones been so crappy?

10:27- Best Visual Effects to Benjamin Button?!!? Are you kidding me?

10:28- Sound Editing- Dark Knight! Sorry to see Ben Burtt didn’t get it for WALL-E, but then again he already has 4.

10:31- Sound Mixing- Slumdog Millionaire.

10:34- They are just blasting through these tech awards.

10:36- And Slumdog Millionaire takes the Editing Oscar. It looks like Boyle’s film is the 800 lb gorilla of the evening.

10:43- Jerry Lewis is getting the humanitarian award. Probably not from his own family.

10:45- Jerry Lewis doesn’t look like Jerry Lewis. Weird.

10:50- Why are Zac Ephron and Alicia Keyes presenting Best Original Score? They have no connection to music.

10:51- And Slumdog Millionaire gets it. The only question remains is which of the two original songs from Slumdog will get the Oscar.

11:02- Best Song goes to “Jai Ho” from Slumdog.

11:07- Best Foriegn Language Film- Departures from Japan. Really surprised that Waltz With Bashir didn’t get it.

11:14- I am not likeking how the camera is swooping around the in rememberance montage.

11:15- Hey! They used a clip from Hudsucker Proxy for Newman’s segment.

11:18- Good lord this evening just seems to be dragging…

11:21- Danny Boyle gets the Oscar for directing Slumdog Millionaire. (I have half a mind to report the movie getting Best Picture right now and then go to bed.)

11:32- Kate Winslet wins Best Actress for The Reader. Great moment with her father. And she thanks Peter Jackson! (For giving her her first big role in Heavenly Creatures.) But no James Cameron.

11:39- “How did Sean Penn get all those jobs playing straight men?” And DeNiro gets the best line of the night. And namechecks Spicolli!

11:43- Sean Penn for the win!!

11:46- Great speech by Penn- right amounts of personal and political.

11:48- Just Best Picture left. Any doubt that it won’t be Slumdog Millionaire?

11:50- I love how they are transposing past Best Picture winners with the current nominees.

11:54- And Slumdog Millionaire wins Best Picture! So will they now all have a big Bollywood musical number on stage to close out the show?

Midnight- And we’re done. Three and a half hours, not too bad. Some good, some which will be quickly forgotten. Good night all.

1. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail (Lionsgate, 2,032 Theaters, 103 Minutes, Rated PG-13):  So, the long progression of films that pay flattery to Tyler Perry’s ego finally reaches its apex. He finally gets around to adapting the play which has his Medea character in the forefront. Yay!

The film aparently focuses on the irrascible Medea, who is Perry in old-age drag, who has finally gone and got herself arrested an thrown in jail. And then, jailarity ensues.

I think the world is just about done with Tyler Perry. He has finally gotten to the level of total overexposure. His last several films has been doing progressively worse and worse at the box office. This one will either be the last nail in the coffin or, and I hope not, a revitalization of the mileu.

2. Fired Up (Sony/Screen Gems, 1,810 Theaters, 94 Minutes, Rated PG-13): There are two types of movies I just don’t trust: Horror films rated PG-13, and teen sex comedies rated PG-13. We have the latter case here.

The premise focuses on two horny teenage boys who decide to attend cheerleading camp on the reason that there would be among hundreds of women. In other words, easy pickins.

With that storyline and a poster that features the letters “F” and “U” so prominantly, you’d expect a ribald movie where anything goes. However, with the film being rated PG-13, there has to be a lot that didn’t go. The result is probably a rather tame, toothless comedy.

It could be the ultimate spoiler or the ultimate prank. A blog sprouted up yesterday, claiming to have the names of all the winners for this Sunday’s Academy Awards.

Do I believe it? I don’t know. It’s possible that the winners might have leaked. No security is absolutely foolproof. The fact that there has never been any leak of winners’ names before does not preclude it ever happening now or in the future. But then again, this post only went up about an hour after the deadline for Oscar ballots to be turned in. Would the results have been tabulated that fast? And if so, whomever leaked the names had to have been fairly close to the counting to post the information that quickly.

As I write this, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have not released any statement, though do you think they would admit it if it were true?

Whether they’re real or not, I’ve placed the list below the jump, so you don’t have to worry about reading them if you don’t want to. It should be interesting to watching the Oscars Sunday to see if this is accurate or not.

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Jackie Chan has always been fairly meticulous about his films, making sure that they stay within the bounds of what could be considered family entertainment, keeping the action, humor and love story elements of his film to a certain level so that all his fans can enjoy his movies.

So when the director of Jackie Chan’s latest Hong Kong action flick, Shinjuku Incident, states that he will not release the film in China because he refuses to cut its level of violence, there is definitely reason to sit up and take notice.

In a story in USAToday, director Derek Yee stated that he contemplated making some cuts to the movie, but ultimately decided that doing so would hurt the film’s integrity. Yee said, “We tried to cut the violent scenes to meet the requirements of the Chinese market, but producers I invited to watch that version thought it was incomplete.” The report goes on to state that the film contains scenes “that show characters getting a hand chopped off and pierced with knives.”

Yee also stated that Chan, who is also an investor in the $25 million film, concurred with his decision.

For those who don’t follow the Asian film scene, China’s film censors are notoriously strict. As the country has no rating system, every film must be tame enough for audiences of all ages. Gratuitous violence, any nudity or even virtually any mention of sex is right out. Of course, they also happen to snip out any hint of cultural or political overtones that may be embarrassing or critical of the Chinese government. (Chinese censors “protected” audiences from seeing Memoirs Of A Geisha and being offended by the sight of the Chinese Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li playing Japanese characters.)

Even more attention grabbing is the fact that in the film Chan plays a refuge from China who heads to Japan and becomes hit man for the mob. Keeping his younger fans in mind, Chan has always tried to play good guys, turning down roles that cast him as a villain or a bad example. I suppose that that inclination may be a hint of the arc his character goes through over the course of the film. On the other hand, this would not be the first time in recent years that Chan has tried to step a bit outside of his usual screen image to try a role a little darker. His alcoholic police detective in 2004′s New Police Story was a marked difference from the character he played in the original Police Story series in the 1990s.

Shinjuku Incident hits screens in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia on April 2 and Japan on May 1. As of yet, the film has no US distributor, but with an Asian DVD release set for June, those with an All-Region DVD player won’t have to wait long to see the film. In the meantime, here’s the film’s trailer, complete with fan translated subtitles.