Local musician Judy B. Goode has two good reasons to love Away We Go

TBT* honcho Jay Cridlin passed along this connection between one of my favorite films of the summer, Away We Go, and the upcoming GaYbor Days festival in Ybor City:

Singer/impressionist Judy B. Goode, whose Thursday night shows at the Ybor City Social Club always draw a crowd, is the proud grandmother of two actors in Sam Mendes' movie, now playing around Tampa Bay.

Brendan and Jaden Spitz, 2-year-old twins, take turns playing "Baby Neptune," who's shown above being lugged around by Maggie Gyllenhaal in a cradle sling. Don't ask me if that Brendan or Jaden in the photo above (with Gyllenhaal and Mendes). Don't ask Judy, either. She says she hasn't seen the kids since they were about three months old, and couldn't tell then.

"They're what are called 'mirror image twins,'" Goode said during a phone chat. "One is left handed, the other is right handed and both look exactly alike."

The boys' mother, Candi, is married to former Anthrax guitarist Danny Spitz, residing in New York City.

Oscar trims some dead TV weight, and maybe an entire category in some years

Last week's decision by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to expand the best picture Oscar nominees list to 10 finalists isn't the only tweak intended to make the show more appealing to TV audiences.

From now on, all testimonial awards -- the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and various honorary Oscars -- will be presented at a separate, black-tie event in November, rather than cluttering up the telecast with more introductory remarks, film clips and acceptance speeches. I'm guessing that about 12-15 minutes can be knocked off the running time right there.

The move may even bring back the Irving Thalberg Award for a producer's lifetime achievements, which hasn't been presented since 2001, presumably to trim the telecast program a bit.

At the same time, another decision to revamp the voting procedure for the best original song Oscar could shorten the telecast even more -- and possibly eliminate the category altogether in certain years.

The academy's music branch selects the nominees by rating eligible songs on a scale of 6 to 10. Under the new rule, if no eligible song earns an 8.25 overall average there won't be a best song competition. If only one song reaches that 8.25 average, it will be nominated along with only the next-highest rated song.

Therefore, a year could have as few as two best song nominees (three was the previous minimum) and no more than five finalists (which has been the case for decades). But that still doesn't explain how Bruce Springsteen (The Wrestler) and none of Eddie Vedder's songs from Into the Wild were nominated in recent years.

For that answer, check out Variety's story about the academy's latest game of musical chairs.

 

USF students win top prize in Hollywood (the one in California)

A team of University of South Florida students led by director Sarah Wilson recently won the best picture award at the 2009 International Campus MovieFest Grand Finale in Hollywood, Ca., over an estimated 75,000 entries from U.S. colleges and universities. That list was pared down through campus and regional competitions to 46 finalists that headed to L.A.

Wilson, a 21-year-old mass communications major at USF, created the short film Rhapsody with co-producers Dan Nguyen and Joyce Yong, and Trey Penton serving as director of photography. As art director, Nguyen also designed the pop-up book animation putting the fable in motion, to the sounds of George Gershwin's stirring Rhapsody in Blue.

As you can see above, it's a nice piece of work.

Rhapsody takes place in a town of color-coded emotions, indicted by the shirts people wear: "blues" like Charlie (Nick Horan) are always sad, "reds" are angry, "yellows" are happy, and so on. All colors exclusively socialize with their own kind, for an allegory of cultural relations.

When Charlie meets "yellow" Sadie (Shannan Stewart) on the first day of high school, they share new feelings and a secret love, eventually "coming out" during a climactic prom, inspiring classmates to feel more tolerant of each other.

Festival rules allow only 10 names to be listed as a filmmaking team, although Rhapsody's end credits list nearly 50 other crew members and extras. Rules also limit production time to a designated 7-day period, although Wilson began pre-production in November 2008, securing ballroom gowns, locations and extras.

Wilson is no stranger to competition; she twice earned first place honors in Bridgestone/Firestone's Safety Scholars contest for public service announcements, and last year teamed with co-director Jesse Newman on Focus, which also won the Southeast region Campus MovieFest award.

Transformers 2 posts second-best opening of all time

At least, if you count the 5-day record, which is different from the 3, 4 or whatever day record that studios concoct to make an opening look better. Kind of like ads proclaiming a movie is the No. 1 comedy when there aren't any fresh ones out there competing.

According to BoxOfficeGuru.com,, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen pulled a 5-day haul of $201.2 million domestically (with $89.2 earned before the traditional Friday-to-Sunday span that's typically reported). That's second only to The Dark Knight that grossed $203.8 million last year. The Friday-to-Sunday total ranks seventh all-time.

Michael Bay's sequel will soon become 2009's top-grossing movie. Up sits atop the list with $250.2 million, and stalling after a good month in theaters.

Friday Fromage double feature: When one Boris Karloff beyond-his-prime movie just isn't enough

There's something sad about about a star hanging around after the audience has left. But we're not into sadness at Friday Fromage, so let's pay tribute to Boris Karloff, who at least had fun on the downslide. We can all learn something from that.

Karloff, of course, was one of movie horror's greatest icons, creating the definitive Frankenstein's monster and the first Mummy in the 1930's. By the 1960s, he kept working in movies spoofing his spooky legacy, such as The Girl in the Invisible Bikini, blatant ripoffs like Frankenstein 1970, and Roger Corman's tongue-through-cheek Edgar Allen Poe adaptations, producing more laughs than gasps as the modern notion of terror passed him by.

But his influence pops up now and then, most recently in Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian, in which Hank Azaria mimicked Karloff's Brit-lisp. Many critics noted the inspiration in reviews, likely for too many readers who needed to Google "Karloff" to know who they meant.

So, on a morning when the skies are crying for another departed Thriller, check out this cheese:

R.I.P Michael Jackson. Just ease on down the road.

There will be plenty memories of Michael but this just seems right, right now.

Halloween Horror Night 19 at Universal Orlando sounds like a scream

It's never too early to begin planning for Halloween. Heck, it took me weeks to perfect my Lt. Dan (from Forrest Gump) costume a few years ago, stopping just short of amputating my legs.

The folks at Universal Orlando annually throw one of the best Halloween shindigs around, with grotesquely detailed horror houses and loads of famous monsters of filmland. I especially get a kick from the people on stilts, disguised as rocks or foliage so they can blend into the park design and jump at visitors who always fall for it.

This year, Universal is using the event -- running weekends from Sept. 25 to Oct. 31 -- to to jump stat its promotion of The Wolf Man (opening Nov. 9), starring Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro who , as you can see from these photos, won't need as much makeup as most actors to be convincing.

Here's the complete news release on Halloween Horror Night 19, with information about ticket discounts and vacation packages:

ORLANDO, FL (June 25, 2009) – For the first time ever, guests at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights will live a mega-horror movie before it even hits the big screen. They will also experience two modern day blockbuster horror franchises as Universal Orlando devotes its entire Halloween Horror Nights event to bringing horror films to life.

Universal Orlando is partnering with Universal Pictures to bring one of the year’s most highly anticipated films, “The Wolfman,” to life so guests can experience it firsthand before it hits theaters on November 6. It is also partnering with Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures to bring the most profitable horror franchise, “SAW,” to Halloween Horror Nights 19: Ripped From the Silver Screen. Universal Orlando is also using its partnership with Universal Pictures to bring the popular “Chucky” film series to life at the event as well.

Lionsgate is expected to release the sixth installment of the powerhouse franchise in theatres nationwide on October 23rd in its traditional opening weekend slot leading into Halloween; the “Chucky” films have become a favorite among horror film and pop culture enthusiasts.

Never before has Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights featured such a catalog of horror. Everyone knows these films. And now everyone will get to live them in person. Guests will experience the physical and psychological horror that Jigsaw, Chucky and The Wolfman have inflicted on the silver screen. They will become victim to the mental games of “SAW’s” maniacal killer Jigsaw. They will come face to face with “Chucky’s” wrath. And they will be there as “The Wolfman’s” alter-ego, Lawrence Talbot, discovers a primal side of himself he didn’t know existed.

“Halloween Horror Nights is the perfect launch for ‘The Wolfman,’” says the film’s producer Scott Stuber. “The horror audience is one of the most enthusiastic and loyal so we are so pleased they are experiencing it first at Halloween Horror Nights.”

“Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights provides a unique platform which allows horror fans to experience Jigsaw’s terrifying labyrinth firsthand.  Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures couldn’t have asked for better partners to bring the world of SAW to life,” said SAW producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules of Twisted Pictures.

From house and character design to costuming and prosthetics, work is already underway on this year’s event.  Additional details will be revealed leading up to opening night of Halloween Horror Nights 19. A SAW attraction will also be included in the Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios Hollywood.

“We have an exciting opportunity to bring our guests into the world of some of the most popular horror films,” said Jim Timon, senior vice president of entertainment for Universal Orlando Resort. “If you thought you were scared watching these movies, wait until you experience this year’s Halloween Horror Nights.”

For 23 select nights this fall, modern horror films are “Ripped from the Silver Screen” to frighten guests at what promises to be the most feared Halloween Horror Nights ever. Other horror films and characters from the movies, including completely re-imagined Frankenstein and Dracula concepts, will also be integrated into this year’s event.

Halloween Horror Nights 19 will feature all-new horrifying haunted houses, inescapable and chilling scarezones, live shows and hundreds of frightening “scare-actors.” Event dates are September 25-26, October 1-4, 8-11, 15-18, 21-25 and 28-31.

Florida residents can save up to $30 with a UPC code from any Coca-Cola, Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Zero product and a valid Florida I.D., reducing the price of a Sunday through Thursday Halloween Horror Nights ticket to only $39.99 plus tax. Florida residents can save up to $20 on Friday and $10 on Saturday night event tickets with a UPC code from any Coca-Cola, Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Zero product and a valid Florida I.D. Tickets must be purchased at least 24 hours in advance. Limit four tickets per can. Visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com for more details.

The Florida Resident Gory Getaway includes one-night hotel accommodations at a Universal Partner hotel, one-night admission to Halloween Horror Nights, one 5x7 souvenir photograph and free access to select live entertainment at Universal CityWalk. The Florida Resident Gory Getaway starts at $97 per person, per night with a UPC code from any Coca-Cola, Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Zero product. An on-site Gory Getaway package is also available with one-night accommodations at an on-site Loews hotel. The on-site Gory Getaway package begins at $146 per person, per night. These packages can be booked online at www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com or by calling 1-888-467-7677 (HORROR-7).

No accounting for taste: Transformers 2 posts second-best opening day of all time

Rolling into theaters Wednesday like Optimus Prime on greased wheels, Transformers: Rise of the Fallen sold $60.6 million in tickets to moviegoers ignoring every critic -- including me -- who said don't waste the money. It's a recession, you know.

That opening day total is second only to last year's debut of The Dark Knight ($67.2 million).

The haul included $16 million from screenings that unspooled at 12:01 a.m., and Michael Bay's movie was certainly loud enough to keep them awake. At this rate, the live-action version of a 1980s cartoon favorite will challenge the Wednesday-to-Sunday debut record of $152.4 million set by Spider-Man 2 in 2004, according to the number crunchers at BoxOfficeGuru.com.

If you're wondering, here's a list of the 10 best opening days, in millions of dollars, from boxofficeguru.com:

1 The Dark Knight  67.2
2 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 60.6
3 Spider-Man 3  59.8
4 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest  55.8
5 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith  50.0
6 X-Men: The Last Stand 45.1
7 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 44.2
 8 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 42.9
9 The Matrix Reloaded 42.5
10 Spider-Man 2 40.4 

Johnny who? Public Enemies could star Warren Oates, Robert Conrad and Mickey Rooney!

Looking forward to tonight's screening of Public Enemies, the gangster flick based on the criminal careers of "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Channing Tatum), "Baby Face" Nelson (Stephen Graham) and the rogue in this gallery so tough that he didn't need a catchy nickname, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp).

Heck, even Al Capone was called "Scarface." Just not when he could hear you.

Anyway, the chance to again see gangsters riding running boards on speeding coupes and blasting machine guns got me thinking about other times Dillinger, Floyd and Nelson were movie subjects. There's plenty to recall; Dillinger is listed as a movie character 27 times by the Internet Movie Database, with the other two tied at 14 appearances each.

That's a bunch of jauntily cocked fedoras, and some noteworthy actors wearing them, sometimes twice. Here's the most wanted list, starting with:

JOHN DILLINGER

Warren Oates, Dillinger (1973) --A criminally underrated actor, Oates roared with Wild Bunch brio through a typically macho John Milius screenplay. 

Robert Conrad, The Lady in Red (1979) -- Knock the battery off his shoulder and he'd fill you full of lead. Bonus points for getting Nancy Drew herself, Pamela Sue Martin, undressed.

Martin Sheen, Dillinger and Capone (1995) -- Never saw this straight-to-video flop but it would be worth finding, just to witness F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus) hamming his way through the Capone role.

CHARLES ARTHUR "PRETTY BOY" FLOYD

Fabian Forte, A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970) -- You knew the pop music idol (Hound Dog Man, Turn Me Loose) was serious about acting when he added his surname to the billing.

Robert Conrad, Young Dillinger (1965) -- Conrad pulled off the rare double-dare, playing second Tommy gun to the late Nick Adams in the title role.

Martin Sheen, The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd (1974) -- Not as fondly recalled as Sheen's other two TV movies that year: The Missiles of October and The Execution of Private Slovik.

LESTER M. "BABY FACE" NELSON

Mickey Rooney, Baby Face Nelson (1957) -- You keep expecting the former Andy Hardy to exclaim: "Hey, kids! Let's put on a bank robbery!"

C. Thomas Howell, Baby Face Nelson (1995) -- This is what happens when the Brat Pack won't let you join. Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.

Richard Dreyfuss, Dillinger (1973) -- One month after this movie release, Dreyfuss' baby face made him a star in American Graffiti.

Honorable mention:

Michael Badalucco, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) --The Coen brothers hilariously dodged facts, naming Nelson "George" and portraying him as an insecure crook who'd even shoot cows. "Oh, George, not the livestock" is a funny line every time.

Academy Awards will expand to 10 best picture nominees in 2010

Get ready to make those Academy Awards betting pools a bit longer in 2010.

Wednesday afternoon, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis announced in a Beverly Hills news conference that next year's field of best picture nominees will double in size to 10 finalists, for the first time since 1943.

"After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year," Ganis said, according to Variety.com. "The final outcome, of course, will be the same -- one best picture winner -- but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009."

The last time the Oscars included 10 best picture finalists was 1943 when Casablanca won over a field including For Whom the Bell Tolls, Heaven Can Wait, In Which We Serve, Madame Curie, The Human Comedy, The More the Merrier, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Song of Bernadette and Watch on the Rhine..

The change is another sign that the academy is concerned about fading ratings for its annual Oscars telecast, amid complaints that voters are out of touch with mainstream movie tastes. The academy already shifted 2010's presentation date to March 7, two weeks later than this year, to avoid head-to-head competition for viewers with the Winter Olympics.

Nobody can predict whether those extra slots will be filled by movies that the general public embraced at the box office, or five more esoteric films that mainstream audiences generally haven't seen.

Complaints from mainstream moviegoers resurfaced when the No. 2 grosser of all time, The Dark Knight ($533.3 million domestic), wasn't among 2008's best picture finalists, despite receiving some of the year's best reviews. WALL-E ($223.8 million) was pegged by many as a best picture finalist but missed the cut, settling for the best animated feature Oscar, which doesn't carry the posterity of a best picture Academy Award.

Among 2008's five best picture nominees, only Slumdog Millionaire sold more than $100 million in tickets, and much of that box office haul occurred after winning the Oscar. It's final domestic box office total of $141.3 million dwarfed the earnings of three other nominees combined (Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader).

Ratings for last February's telecast were 6 percent higher than 2008's broadcast -- Hugh Jackman hosting and Heath Ledger's posthumous win for best supporting actor in The Dark Knight obviously made a difference. But 2008's show was the lowest-rated Oscars telecast ever, so an uptick could be expected.

The Golden Globes, sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, annually nominates 10 movies for two best picture prizes, divided between dramas and musical/comedy.