Weekend Newsreel: April 7, 2006

Compiled By The FilmBuffOnLine Staff

 

 

     Philadelphia Film Fest Coverage Continues: Our coverage of the 15th Philadelphia Film Festival continues here with more reviews and features.

 

 

     Betty Boop Revealed: Animator Steve Moore has posted on his website an animatic test from an aborted Betty Boop feature film that was in development back in 1993. Moore was serving as the project’s director with a script by Brave Little Toaster (1987) director Jerry Reeds. The film was being spearheaded by Richard Fleischer, the son of Betty Boop’s creator Max Fleischer. The test is for a song called “Where Are You?” written by jazz musician Bennie Wallace with lyrics by Cheryl Wells and performed by pianist/singer Jimmy Rowles and Sue Raney supplying the vocals for Betty. Fleischer, who passed away on March 25, 2006, was very protective of the Betty Boop character and was strict with how she was to be portrayed, but reportedly teared-up when he first saw the test reel. Unfortunately, after six months of development, studio MGM put the film into turn around and the project was unable to find another home.

 

 

     Hong Kong Fest Honors Action Choreographers: The Hong Kong Film Festival kicked off this past Monday evening with an award ceremony honoring five of Hong Kong’s top action choreographers. Heading the honoree’s list were Jackie Chan and his long-time friend Sammo Hung. Both Chan and Hung trained as children at the same Peking Opera School, learning the martial arts and acrobatic skills that made them top action stars. Yuen Wo-Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2), Lau Kar-leung (36th Chamber Of Shaolin) and Ching Siu-tung (Hero, House Of Flying Daggers) round out the list of recipients.

 

 

     Deja View: Warner Brothers has announced the hiring of director Phil Joanou for their remake of the Burt Reynolds’s cop film Sharkey’s Machine. Mark Wahlberg is expected to take over the Reynolds’s roll.

 

 

Opening This Week

April 7

  • 4 (limited)

  • 95 Miles To Go (limited)- website

  • The Benchwarmers

  • Brick (wider)- website

  • Free Zone (NY)

  • Friends With Money- website

  • Guys And Balls (limited)

  • Lucky Number Slevin

  • On A Clear Day

  • The Outsider (SF)- website

  • Phat Girlz- website

  • The Proposition (LA)

  • Simon (NY)- website

  • Sir! No Sir! (SF)- website

  • Take The Lead

  • Thank You For Smoking (wider)- website

  • Untitled A Good Year Project

  • When Do We Eat?- website

  • White Rainbow (limited)- website

 

April 10

 

April 13

  • Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story (NY)- website