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The mild initial curiosity stirred by Zoom-shot movies died quickly, because so few of them were watchable, and because filmmakers quickly found workarounds to create more fluid entertainments while still observing Covid precautionary measures. Thus “Zero Contact” arrives as a novelty that’s already more than worn out its welcome, aiming for dubious additional distinction as “the world’s first star-powered feature film Nft.” (It was released in that form last September — whether anyone actually purchased it as such is unknown.)

We’ll just gingerly step around that factoid, as the aptly named “Zero Contact” has plenty of more tangible ways in which it is a steaming pile of nada. Producer turned first-time director Rick Dugdale and screenwriter Cam Cannon’s would-be thriller has five globally-scattered protagonists yelling at their screens during a conference call in which the fate of all humanity supposedly hangs in the balance from some murky high-tech threat.

Development continues on "Spider-Man" co-creator Steve Ditko's faceless crime fighter 'The Question" as a live action character in the 'DC Film Universe':

'The Question' ('Vic Sage') created by writer/illustrator Steve Ditko, debuted in Charlton Comics' Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967), followed by Charlton's "Mysterious Suspense" (October 1968) .

The character was then acquired by DC Comics in the early 1980's...

...and incorporated into the 'DC Universe', with former 'Gotham' police officer 'Renee Montoya', a protégé of Sage, becoming the new 'Question'.

"...in 'Hub City', TV investigative journalist 'Vic Sage' looking into criminal activities by a 'Dr. Twain', was approached by 'Aristotle Rodor', a former college professor, telling Sage about an artificial skin he had developed with Twain called 'Pseudoderm' with sometimes fatal side effects.

"Rodor and Twain agreed to abandon the project and parted ways, but Rodor discovered Twain had decided to proceed with an illegal sale of...

Truth is always stranger than fiction, and in the case of “The Lady and the Dale”, wildly so. HBO’s four-part docu-series, executive-produced by the Duplass Brothers and directed by Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker, charts the improbable story of Elizabeth “Liz” Carmichael, a larger-than-life entrepreneur who developed a fuel-efficient three-wheeled car named The Dale at the height of the 1970s oil crisis. While The Dale was her crowning achievement, Carmichael’s life took more twists and turns than the futuristic three-wheeler’s ill-fated test run.

, using whimsical paper cutout animation to bring life to the decades-old characters. A subject of media fascination at the time, Liz’s identity as a transgender woman became inextricably linked to her duplicitous business dealings, making her a powerful real-world example of the “trans deception” trope at its most insidious. Her trans-ness is explored with tender nuance; carefully extricated from the more complicated parts...

Through two seasons of stories both comical and poignant, Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Terror offered new takes on classic tales from the Master of Macabre and other renowned literary figures, and we're thrilled to exclusively announce that this tradition will continue in Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Blood.

Premiering with its first issue on October 21st followed by a second issue on November 18th, Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Blood will feature new twists on Poe's "Black Cat," "Cask of Amontillado," and more!

Stay tuned to Daily Dead and Ahoy Comics' website for more updates, and in the meantime, as a special treat for Daily Dead readers, we have the exclusive cover art reveals and details on the first two issues of Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Blood, featuring amazing artwork by Jill Thompson and Ryan Kelly, respectively.

"Edgar Allan Poe’S Snifter Of Blood #1

(W) Paul Cornell,...

Audible, the Amazon-owned company with the world’s largest audiobook library has introduced a new, free service aimed at kids (and adults!) who want to brush up on some reading while they’re stuck indoors.

The program is called Audible Stories, and it’s impressively easy to use. There’s no membership (Audible, Amazon, or otherwise) to sign up for, no fees, and no limits on the amount of books you can stream. To access the library, use this link, and you’ll be taken to the Audible Stories home page.

"Spider-Man" co-creator Steve Ditko's faceless crime fighter 'The Question", an adherent of 'objectivism', is currently in development as a live action character in the DC Universe:

'The Question' ('Vic Sage') created by writer/illustrator Steve Ditko, debuted in Charlton Comics' Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967), followed by Charlton's "Mysterious Suspense" (October 1968) .

The character was then acquired by DC Comics in the early 1980's...

...and incorporated into the 'DC Universe', with former 'Gotham' police officer 'Renee Montoya', a protégé of Sage, becoming the new 'Question'.

"...in 'Hub City', TV investigative journalist 'Vic Sage' looking into criminal activities by a 'Dr. Twain', was approached by 'Aristotle Rodor', a former college professor, telling Sage about an artificial skin he had developed with Twain called 'Pseudoderm' with sometimes fatal side effects.

"Rodor and Twain agreed to abandon the project and parted ways, but Rodor discovered Twain had decided to proceed with an...

When "An Open Secret" premiered at Doc NYC, audiences and critics worried that no distributor would touch it. But the film has finally been picked up, by Rocky Mountain Pictures, for a 20-city Us theatrical release beginning June 5. The film will also play exclusively at the Cannes Market in an invite-only screening on May 19. The documentary, however, is not exactly in the wheelhouse of Rocky Mountain Pictures, which has so far specialized mainly in fundamentalist Christian and right-wing political films, from "Atlas Shrugged: Part One" (2011) to its highest grosser "2016: Obama's America" (2012), for the middle American demo. How will the Utah-based distributor channel the film's message to the right audience? This pickup suggests that "An Open Secret," shut out of most high-profile festival play, didn't elicit interest from the level of distributors who've handled Berg's past films (including Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Classics). It will be...

The politically charged Atlas Shrugged Part III: Who Is John Galt? got off to a slow start at the U.S. box office despite cameos by former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul and a raft of conservative commentators. Opening in 242 theaters in select markets, the movie grossed between $355,000 and $455,000, well behind the $1.7 million debut of Atlas Shrugged: Part I from 299 locations in April 2011. The second film, launching to $1.8 million in October 2012, isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, since it rolled out in more than 1,000 locations. John

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Unless you’re a diehard Libertarian or the ghost of Ayn Rand herself back from the great beyond come to haunt us all in the spookiest of fashions, you probably haven’t spent that much time paying attention to the Atlas Shrugged film trilogy. If you’re suddenly inspired to trek to the theater and explore the role of man’s mind in existence, the third and final installment of the series — which attempts to answer the all-important question of “Who is John Galt?” — has arrived. The first trailer for the aptly titled Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?, directed by James Manera and written by Manera and Harmon Kaslow, promises epic romance, war and all the Ron Paul the silver screen can handle. It’s somewhat of a miracle that the film even exists. After Atlas Shrugged: Part I was a bonafide flop, only managing to bring in lukewarm $4.6 million at the box office, its...

I'm not sure who exactly saw Atlas Shrugged: Part I in 2011, but it only ended up making $4.6 million at the box office. In 2012 Atlas Shrugged: The Strike was released and only made $3.3 million at the box office. Now, the third and finale film in the trilogy is hitting theaters after resorting to Kickstarter for additional funding, that film is Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galtc and the first trailer is here for you to absorb. Directed by James Manera, the film stars Stephen Tobolowsky, Rob Morrow and Eric Allan Kramer and will be hitting theaters on September 12. Here's the ominous plot: Approaching collapse, the nation's economy is quickly eroding. As crime and fear take over the countryside, the government continues to exert its brutal force against the nation's most productive who are mysteriously vanishing - leaving behind a wake of despair. One man has the answer. One woman stands in his way.

After Atlas Shrugged: Part I made only $4.6 million in 2011 on a production budget of $20 million I thought they would stop. They didn't. In 2012 they released Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike and it made only $3.3 million, which based on my calculations is less than $4.6 million. So, we're losing audience at this point. Did that stop themc Nope... This year Atlas Distribution Company will deliver Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galtc on September 12 and the first trailer for that movie has been released, featuring "America's Got Talent" sand artist Joe Castillo forming the head of the Statue of Liberty. There's no word on what the budget for this one is, but the film did go to Kickstarter for money and managed to raise $446,907 on a goal of $250,000. They even had ten backers pitch in $10,000 and with 3,554 in total and ticket prices estimated at $7.96 on average for 2014, that should mean this one will...

I'm in something of a pickle.  I have encountered a terribly exploitative Kickstarter campaign for a film celebrating the life of one of our nation's biggest proponents of free market, laissez-faire capitalism.  And yet giving the project this kind of attention is exactly what they want.  They say so on their Kickstarter page. Ayn Rand has been a terribly problematic figure for our nation's far right fringe.  Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan went from gushing about his love for Rand to a much more tempered view of her as a writer and thinker.  Her most popular book "Atlas Shrugged" has been adapted by a group calling themselves Atlas Productions, LLC.  So far, there have been two films, and despite large amounts of money going into the productions, box office receipts have been disappointing to say the least.  "Atlas Shrugged: Part I," grossed $4.6 million; "Atlas Shrugged: Part II" grossed $3.3 million.  The budgets for those films were.

The producers of the first two installments of Atlas Shrugged just won't quit. Despite the failure of Atlas Shrugged Part 1 and Atlas Shrugged Part 2, which took in a combined $8 million at the domestic box office, producers John Aglialoro and Harmon Kaslow have greenlit the third installment of their trilogy. Atlas Shrugged Part 3 will be written by Duncan Scott and Brian O'Toole, and no director or major cast member is yet attached. Decades ago, Scott helped Atlas Shrugged author Ayn Rand restore and recut her 1942 film, We the Living. Story: Sean Hannity Making Film Debut in

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Welcome to another preview of some great upcoming Blu-Ray releases! This week, the much-talked about Argo hits store shelves, Sinister will convince you to never watch home movies again, and Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome lands on Blu-Ray with some science-fiction style.

Ready for this week’s Blu-Ray releases? Then read on.

Argo

Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler, Clea DuVall, and Chris Messina.

Director: Ben Affleck

An American thriller film directed by Ben Affleck and based on the true story of a 1979 CIA operation. The film has won a number of awards and is nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Alan Arkin).

Plot: During the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, a CIA ‘exfiltration’ specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.

My Thoughts:...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Feb. 19, 2013

Price: DVD $22.98, Blu-ray $29.99

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Samantha Mathis is Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged: Part II.

Powerful forces trigger a global revolution in the 2012 science fiction-tinged drama-mystery film Atlas Shrugged: Part II, an adaptation of acclaimed author Ayn Rand‘s best-selling 1957 novel.

Adapted for the screen by Duke Sandefur, Duncan Scott and Brian Patrick O’Toole (Cemetery Gates) and directed by John Putch, Atlas Shrugged: Part II is the second installment in a planned trilogy, with Part III tentatively slated for release in 2013. Atlas Shrugged: Part I was released on in theaters and on disc in 2011.

In the movie, the global economy is on the brink of collapse as brilliant creators, from artists to industrialists, continue to mysteriously disappear. Dagny Taggart (Samantha Mathis of The New Daughter, replacing Taylor Schilling, who portrayed Dagny in Part I), Vice President in Charge of Operations for Taggart Transcontinental,...

Chicago – If the Koch brothers have proven anything over the last several months, it’s that money speaks louder than the truth. Facts may not be for sale, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be buried. At a time when more information is available to the general public than ever before, an alarming number of Americans are content in remaining blissfully uninformed.

The 90-minute propaganda stunt, “2016: Obama’s America,” banks on the assumption that audiences are idiots. How else to explain its crackpot corroboration of unsubstantiated gobbledygook masquerading as an incendiary examination of the 44th U.S. president? The film isn’t really about Barack Obama at all. It’s about author/co-director/narrator/star Dinesh D’Souza and his own warped view of America, which seems to exist entirely within an alternate reality completely detached from our own. Perhaps the man has a future in science fiction.

Atlas Shrugged Part 2 box office plummets Last weekend, Atlas Shrugged: Part II had one of the worst domestic openings ever for a movie in wide release (600-2,000 venues). If that wasn’t bad enough, the widely derided sequel to last year’s major box-office bomb Atlas Shrugged: Part I suffered the worst box-office drop among the top 15 movies on Box Office Mojo‘s domestic weekend chart. (Photo: Atlas Shrugged Part 2 Esai Morales as Francisco d’Anconia, Samantha Mathis as Ayn Rand’s businesswoman Dagny Taggart, Jason Beghe [...]...

It’s official: Neeson Season has stretched to October.

Liam Neeson’s Taken 2 kicked its way back into the top slot for a second weekend with an estimated $22.5 million, and Ben Affleck’s political thriller Argo and the Ethan Hawke horror flick Sinister were close second and third, respectively. The one-two-three punch helped boost the box office to a fabulous 47 percent gain over the same weekend in 2011, when Real Steel slugged its way to a second No. 1 finish.

While Taken 2 continues to outpace the 2009 original — after 10 days, it’s notched $86.8 million, in comparison to Taken’s $53.6 million total...

<< Continued from 'Argo, Sinister' and More Target 'Taken 2' on Crowded Weekend'Opening at 3,014 locations, Here Comes the Boom is star Kevin James' third movie where he's the solo lead following Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Zookeeper. Paul Blart opened to a surprisingly strong $31.8 million in January 2009, while Zookeeper was less impressive with a $20.1 million debut last Summer. Distributor Sony/Columbia is expecting another drop off for Here Comes the Boom, with internal forecasts projecting between $10 and $12 million this weekend. Family audiences are still going to Hotel Transylvania (also a Sony movie with James contributing voice work) and Frankenweenie (which should hold well despite its poor start last weekend), which is going to put a big dent in the opening potential for Here Comes the Boom. Additionally, last Fall's Warrior opened to just $5.2 million, suggesting mixed martial arts isn't a major big-screen attraction yet. CBS Films is unleashing...

Lindsay Lohan takes the lead in the upcoming Lifetime movie, Liz & Dick, set to air in the Us in just over a month’s time.

We saw a captivating Lohan grace the poster last month, and now a new featurette has debuted online, giving us a look behind the scenes, in which the actress talks a little about the similarities between Elizabeth Hurley and herself.

“On the set of Cleopatra, Hollywood’s most beautiful star, Elizabeth Taylor, fell into the arms of one of the world’s greatest actors, Richard Burton – and she didn’t leave.

Their subsequent white-hot, scandalous love affair gave rise to the paparazzi and they became the most hunted and photographed couple on earth. Their rocky, passionate, relationship, born in front of the cameras, was captured in a series of films, including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

The last of the great, extravagant stars, flaunting diamonds,...

Now that the thunderous shrugs have stopped reverberating from Sunday's Weeds finale, creator Jenji Kohan has moved on to her next series about a woman who finds herself in unlikely criminal circumstances due to drugs, and then presumably behaves horribly while relying on her attractiveness to remain likable. That woman will be Taylor Schilling, who's had previous experience with that sort of thing by starring in Atlas Shrugged: Part I, and who will now lead Kohan's Netflix original series Orange Is The New Black. As previously reported, Orange (based on Piper Kerman's memoir) follows a Brooklyn ...

In a case of life imitating art, when "Atlas Shrugged: Part I" hit theaters last year, movie fans also shrugged. But since the adaptation of Ayn Rand's literary doorstop is a labor of love (and being Randians, the emphasis is on the labor and not the love), the film's producers have continued forward, bad box office and worse reviews be damned.

And you can see the results of that right now thanks to the new trailer for "Atlas Shrugged: Part II."

Based on Rand's influential 1957 screed of the same name, "Atlas Shrugged" tells the story of a group of rich elitists who decide to stop being oppressed by the poorer majority and instead stand up for the right to be as rich and elite as they damn well please. They are led in this noble cause by a mysterious figure named John Galt, who may or may not be...

Atlas Shrugged: Part I gave us an accurate portrayal of how the crony nexus of politicians and compliant business interests hates and fears freedom and capitalism.

Despite grossing only $4 million in theaters and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 11%, continuing the proposed three-film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel, a sequel to Atlas Shrugged went into development, and today, we have a trailer for the new movie.

Producer Harmon Kaslow said:

The industry will take us more seriously now that we have Russell (Schwartz) and Bill (Lewis) on board. Last time, we marketed in an unorthodox fashion. This time, in addition to online, we’ll do traditional print, radio and TV advertising.

A new set of thesps include Samantha Mathis (taking over for Taylor Schilling), Jason Beghe, Patrick Fabien, Richard T. Jones, Esai Morales and Diedrich Bader.

Kaslow added:

Some of the major scenes in Part 2 are themes of the campaign...

2016 Obama’s America Movie: A right-wing blockbuster in the making? 2016 Obama’s America has to date earned $2.41m in North America. Released by Rocky Mountain Pictures, the same company that distributed last year’s box-office disaster Atlas Shrugged: Part I, the Dinesh D’Souza / John Sullivan-directed documentary expands from 169 to 1,090 venues this coming weekend, right before the Republican National Convention, which runs Aug. 27-30, in Tampa, Florida. (Photo: Barack Obama.) [See also: "2016 Obama's America Movie: Box-Office Bomb or Arthouse Hit?"] Based on D’Souza’s book The Roots of Obama’s Rage, 2016 Obama’s America claims to reveal "the real" Barack Obama, while offering dire [...]...

2016 America’s Obama Movie vs. Atlas Shrugged [See previous article: "2016 America's Obama Movie: Box-Office Bomb or Arthouse Hit?"] So, why was Atlas Shrugged: Part I a box-office bomb? Because it cost a reported $20m. Directed by Paul Johansson, the critically massacred adaptation of the first third or so of Ayn Rand’s mammoth novel featured Taylor Schilling as Dagny Taggart (Schilling is now much better known as Zac Efron’s romantic interest in The Lucky One), Grant Bowler, and Michael O’Keefe. [Photo: Dinesh D'Souza and George Obama in 2016 Obama's America.] Now, if accurate, 2016 Obama’s America‘s tiny budget makes it a much safer commercial [...]...

2016 Obama’s America Movie: Box-Office Bomb or ‘Arthouse’ Hit? Distributed by Rocky Mountain Pictures, the same company that last year handled the distribution of the box-office disaster Atlas Shrugged: Part I — so disastrous, in fact, that parts II and III were initially scrapped — 2016 Obama’s America has to date taken in an estimated $2.06m in North America. Co-directed and co-written by author and commentator Dinesh D’Souza and producer John Sullivan (Ducks, The Hitchhiker), and based on D’Souza’s book The Roots of Obama’s Rage, 2016 Obama’s America is just that: the United States under four more years of Barack Obama in the White [...]...

For new filmmakers and veterans alike, navigating the waters of the international film sales scene can be a daunting task. Halfway through the hectic Cannes Film Market I had a chance to sit down with Scott Bedno of hard-working indie sales outfit Spotlight Pictures. He took a few minutes to help shine a spotlight on the film industry from the international sales agent's perspective.

So tell me a bit about Spotlight; who are you and how long have you been in business?

Spotlight Pictures is a full-service film sales company licensing all media rights of feature films worldwide. Spotlight started in 2005, but the core members of the Spotlight team have decades of experience in the international arena.

What is your position in the company and what is your background?

I am the President of International at Spotlight Pictures. I started at Spotlight in September 2011, but I have known the company CEO, Matthew McCombs, since I first started in the business, as an assistant to legendary buyer’s rep, Gordon Steel. I don’t want to mention how long ago that was! After working with Gordon, I then worked as an acquisitions executive for the Australian distributor, Becker Entertainment, working under Mark Gooder, where we acquired titles such as “The Blair Witch Project” and “Buena Vista Social Club.” I dabbled in the “new media” space for a while, then settled into sales about a decade ago.

You seem to be doing better than just surviving, but actually growing in the past couple markets, what's your secret?

We find that as we’ve grown as a company, producers have gravitated towards us. They appreciate our straight-talk; some sales companies are prone to give out overblown sales estimates just to secure a film, we analyze the market for them realistically. We also try and lay out a road map of the sales strategy and discuss marketing ideas with our producers, as it truly is a partnership. We know how much time and energy our producers put into making the film, so we want to match that time and energy in selling the film. We don’t represent a large number of titles so we can devote enough time and resources to the films we do represent.

Lionsgate acquires Summit, eOne gobbling Alliance, seems like the pond is shrinking; as an "indies' indie" what's your take on the current climate for independent financing and distribution?

Certainly independent financing has taken a hit since the banking crisis. However, there always seems to be a steady stream of investors who want to be involved in the film business, so I feel the death of independent cinema is exaggerated to some degree. Mergers and acquisitions seem to be cyclical as well. At one point, there were no mini-major studios or studio/indie hybrids, then there were a bunch of them, now there aren’t as many. Two years from now, who knows? All I know is, quality product will find a market.

What are some of the titles you currently have, and how was Cannes for you?

We had a great Cannes, I’m pleased to report. We closed deals in Germany, Japan, Latin America, Turkey, Middle East, UK, just to name a few. I will also be closing deals after the market. Our recent titles include “Atlas Shrugged: Part I” which had a theatrical release in the States on over 450 prints, “Millennium Bug,” a creature feature using only practical effects (no CGI!) which buyers loved, the family/dog, “I Heart Shakey 3D,” and the zombie comedy, “Detention of the Dead.” As you can see, it’s a diverse slate, but we know different buyers are looking for different types of product, so we want to make sure we have something for everyone. What they have in common is the passion of the filmmakers behind them.

What's your advice to indie producers?

My advice to producers is to make the film you want to make, but it couldn’t hurt to talk to a sales agent before you start down the path. Our current producers bounce ideas off us for their next projects all the time, and we’ll give them our advice from what our buyers are saying to us. We have no ego, so you can say, “I’m making this movie about a dandelion growing in the desert, as it’s a symbol of a young woman’s coming-of-age in post-World War II Mongolia, and you can’t talk me out of it!” And we’ll say, “If that’s your passion, and you have to make the film, then go for it…but can you at least have some name cast?”

What one piece of information would producers be surprised to know?

All producers are concerned about piracy, as are we. However, most producers have been given the advice that you don’t want to have your film released in foreign territories ahead of the Us release, due to piracy. In fact, the opposite is true. There is more piracy flowing out from the States than flowing into the States. Which makes sense, as pirates take advantage of the promotion and awareness from the Us release. You’ve seen the studios catching on to this, as “Battleship” was released very successfully in foreign territories well in advance of the Us release.

Are you open to being contacted even if a film hasn't won a prize at Sundance?

Certainly! We’re always looking for quality product, and that doesn’t mean you need festival accolades to be considered. Producers please check out our website, www.spotlight-pictures.com, and contact us directly regarding your project.

Next up...The Distributor

Written by Zack Coffman. Follow Zack's film marketing tips and adventures @choppertown on Twitter.

Grant Bowler / Richard Burton: Liz & Dick Grant Bowler as Richard Burton in Lifetime’s fall movie Liz & Dick looks less convincing than Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor. Burton met Taylor at the time the two were making Cleopatra for 20th Century Fox. A troubled production, Cleopatra was initially to have starred Taylor, Peter Finch, and Stephen Boyd, under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian. Mamoulian left, Taylor fell seriously ill, nearly died, and had to have a tracheotomy performed. The end result was a Best Actress Academy Award for her troubles (and for Butterfield 8) and brand new leading men for Cleopatra: Richard Burton as Marc Antony and Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar. By then, Cleopatra also had a new director: two-time Best Director Oscar winner Joseph L. Mankiewicz. A respected stage and screen actor in the ’60s, Richard Burton was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Best Supporting Actor...

Lindsay Lohan / Elizabeth Taylor Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime movie Liz & Dick. Lohan, 26 next July 2, plays Elizabeth Taylor (apparently) at about the time she met Richard Burton in the early ’60s. (Though the Lohan/Taylor picture above looks like something out Richard Brooks’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with Lohan as Maggie the Panther.) Grant Bowler, best known for True Blood and the box-office and critical cataclysm Atlas Shrugged: Part I, plays Richard Burton. The makeup job looks quite impressive, helping to transform Lohan into Taylor. We’ll see — or rather, hear — if Lohan is able to reproduce Taylor’s tones as well. A tabloid queen in her heyday, Elizabeth Taylor won two Best Actress Academy Awards: Daniel Mann’s Butterfield 8, 1960; Mike Nichols’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 1966. Taylor was nominated three other times: Edward Dmytryk’s Raintree County, 1957; Brooks’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,...

Lindsay Lohan Elizabeth Taylor movie Liz & Dick (Grant Bowler as Richard Burton) Lindsay Lohan‘s Elizabeth Taylor movie Liz & Dick, to be shown on Lifetime, has its first official photo. Lohan does look like Taylor; whether or not Atlas Shrugged: Part I‘s Grant Bowler passes for Richard Burton is unclear, as he seems to be playing Christopher Lee in the above pic. Much has been said about how absurd it was to cast Lindsay Lohan, of rehab and courtroom notoriety, to play one of the most glamorous stars Hollywood has ever produced. What those people seem to forget — or be ignorant about — is that Elizabeth Taylor, long before she became a Dame of the (now-moribund) British Empire, long before her AIDS Foundation, and not that long before her two Oscar wins, was considered by many to be a selfish, reckless "whore." True, Taylor received four back-to-back Oscar nominations in...

After ruling for four weeks, it's a foregone conclusion that The Hunger Games will finally give up its place atop the box office*the big question, though, is whether The Lucky One or Think Like a Man winds up replacing it. Nicholas Sparks romance The Lucky One, opening in 3,155 locations this weekend, has seemed like the safe bet for a while now. However, Think Like a Man appears to be receiving a surge of interest, and Sony/Screen Gems has managed to get the movie in to 2,015 theaters (up from an estimate of 1,800). Also opening this weekend is Disneynature's fourth documentary, Chimpanzee, though it's only reaching 1,563 theaters and could end up outside of the Top Five. The Lucky One is the seventh movie adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel, and for the most part the movies have been at least mildly successful. The most recent adaptations both arrived in the...

The 2011 Portfolio Video. Alex “hatinhand“‘s The 2011 Portfolio video showcases Drive, Warrior, Shame and other movies from 2011 in a tribute video featuring clips and music from them. Most of these films I have not even seen yet (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and some I will never see (Footloose).

The video is broken up into six chapters (there are two chapter 2s), each one has its own music track.

From Hatinhand about The 2011 Portfolio:

The 2011 slate of releases, from The Adjustment Bureau to Zookeeper.

This is where a cathartic and overarching statement would succinctly sum up the year’s displays of creativity, passion, ingenuity, and bravado, but the only thing that comes to mind is: weird shit. Lots of weird shit.

War horses and evil clowns. Hobos with shotguns and super-powered Nazi hunters. Cancer comedies and a silent warrior in a scorpion jacket. Iconoclasts, conspirators, madmen, and crusaders. And a badass David Tennant.

When the big-screen adaptation of Ayn Rand’s best-selling novel Atlas Shrugged came out on the not-so-subtle date of April 15th earlier this year, the Tea Party thought it was going to be a huge success. Spoiler: It wasn’t. If you want further details on why, you might want to check out Cole Abaius’s in-depth review of the movie here. Now that Atlas Shrugged: Part I is out on DVD and Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray, you can rent it and have your own tea party, but with beer. A beer party. At the suggestion of Mr. Abaius, we present this not-so-complex drinking game to help you get through the first (and possibly only) part of the filmed saga. And now, to cover our butts… This game is only for people over the age of 21. Please drink responsibly, and don’t talk to any strange men wearing a trench coat and fedora. Take...

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Before I get to this week's new titles I thought I would first point out that Amazon has a sale this week on the Blu-ray edition of Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone's The Man with No Name Trilogy featuring A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly at only $19.99. I own this Blu-ray trilogy and will admit it isn't necessarily the best Blu-ray transfer you're going to come across, but at that price it's just about right. If you're interested in picking it up, [amazon asin="B003EYEF2S" text="click here"] to take advantage.

Now, with that out of the way, let's get to this week's releases.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 It doesn't actually hit shelves until November 11, but the biggest release of the week -- when it comes to the masses...

Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition I didn't request this one for review, but early reviews have been quite impressive. The thing is, I don't enjoy this film so much that I need a high-definition "ultimate" edition. My DVD copy should suffice for the couple of times I'm likely to watch this film again in my lifetime.

Carlos (Criterion Collection) Criterion has put together an impressive two-disc Blu-ray and four-disc DVD set for their release of Olivier Assayas' 339 minute epic Carlos, which I saw in its entirety at Cannes last year (read my review here) where I called it "a good-not-great film that has a no frills, clinical approach to its lead subject, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, or as you may know and/or remember him... Carlos the Jackal." It reminded me of Steven Soderbergh's Che in a lot of ways even though it is a far more cohesive film.

Release Date: Nov. 8, 2011

Price: DVD $22.98, Blu-ray $29.99

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Taylor Schilling is executive Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged.

Powerful forces trigger a global revolution in the 2011 science fiction-tinged mystery film Atlas Shrugged: Part I, an adaptation of acclaimed author Ayn Rand‘s best-selling 1957 novel.

Adapted for the screen by first-time writer John Aglialoro and Brian Patrick O’Toole (Cemetery Gates) and directed by Paul Johansson (TV’s One Tree Hill), Atlas Shrugged: Part I is the first installment in a planned trilogy, with Part 2 tentatively slated for release in 2012.

The story of Atlas Shrugged: Part I is set in 2016, when the country is on the verge of economic collapse. Young executive Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling, TV’s Mercy) runs one of the largest remaining railroads despite the problems created by her inept CEO brother, James (Matthew Marsden, Resident Evil: Extinction). To save the railroad from financial ruin,...

"Over the weekend, The Undefeated charged into six-digit territory, posting a smaller drop than Harry Potter and a higher per-theater average than Larry Crowne and Mr. Popper's Penguins! Not only that, it beat its weekend estimate, and it's already nearing the Top 50 of political documentaries!" That's the kind of spin one might have expected from political boosters about Sarah Palin documentary The Undefeated's second-weekend nosedive. After all, the box office reality didn't stop them from proclaiming an unremarkable opening to be remarkable last week. Instead, they ignored the box office defeat altogether and began pushing a press release about The Undefeated's imminent arrival on pay-per-view/video-on-demand and DVD. That press release, by the way, was issued after the movie's second weekend results came in. Here's the reality: The Undefeated debuted to $65,132 at ten locations over the July 15-17 weekend. This past weekend, its release grew to 14 locations, but...

Sarah Palin is The Undefeated Despite reports to the contrary, the Sarah Palin movie The Undefeated did not play to empty houses on its first weekend out in North America. According to Box Office Mojo, The Undefeated brought in $65,132 at 10 locations over the weekend of July 15-17; the Stephen K. Bannon-directed film's per-theater average was a so-so $6,513. So, "so-so" may not mean "packed houses" or "boffo" (in icky Variety slang), but non-existent patrons bring in no revenue. The claim that The Undefeated was playing to empty houses became "fact" following a report by The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf, who described his experience sitting mostly alone at a midnight screening of the Sarah Palin documentary in — mostly Republican — Orange County, right behind the Orange Curtain southeast of Los Angeles. But clearly, paying customers were around at other The Undefeated screenings in Orange County, Houston, Phoenix, Indianapolis, and elsewhere. Perhaps far-right Republicans go to bed early?...

Today marks the last day of the first half of the year, and as per custom, it's time to look back and reflect on the best and worst of 2011 so far. We could easily fill a Top 25 Worst films, and in the first six months, it's much more difficult to judge degrees of suck than it is to value the merits of the handful of great films, so the measure of hostility will additionally be taken into account in ranking the Ten Worst.

The top ten films are also limited to theatrical releases, as well, which unfortunately excludes a film that's now available on iTunes that would have competed for the top spot on this list: Turkey Bowl. Track it down; it's only 62 minutes, and it may be the funniest 62 minutes of the year (check out Seth's review here, and Dan's review over at the Houston Press).

The 10 Worst Films...

Weinsteinian Oscar speculation is fine and all, but what about the Razzies? "[A]s a Razzie pro," writes Dan Kois, "I'd say this: Don't sleep on Atlas Shrugged: Part I. It has a tiny profile, earning only $4.6 million at the box office, but it got a lot of highbrow press coverage for its awfulness. And unlike all these other movies, Atlas won't confuse voters come nomination day. I think it might be this year's The Hottie and the Nottie -- a real Little Movie That Can't!" And a breath of fresh Razzie air to boot! For your consideration, indeed. [Grantland]...

Grant Bowler, Taylor Schilling, Atlas Shrugged: Part I Megan Fox, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Bill Murray Flop: Box Office The first installment of a planned trilogy based on Ayn Rand's 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged: Part I had one of the worst drop-off rates this weekend at the North American box office, down more than 70% after losing 143 locations. Currently showing at 228 theaters, Atlas Shrugged earned only $131k, averaging a dismal $601 per theater on its fourth weekend out according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. For comparison's sake: Also on its fourth weekend, Robert Redford's The Conspirator, starring Robin Wright and James McAvoy, averaged $1,285 per theater at 460 sites. All things being equal, the fewer the number of theaters, the higher a film's per-theater average should be. Of course, The Conspirator has Redford, Wright, and McAvoy, whereas Atlas Shrugged — which was lambasted by the vast majority [...]...

"It's almost like most Americans don't want to see a movie that says most Americans are parasites" - Stephen Colbert

Here's a funny segment from The Colbert Report called Movies That Are Destroying America: Saving America Edition. In the video Colbert focuses on the films Captain America: The First Avenger as well as Atlas Shrugged: Part I. Of course he takes shots at a few of films as well. I just enjoy watching Colbert put a fun spin on things like this. Enjoy the video.

The Colbert Report

Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive...

On a nightly basis, fans eagerly watch as Comedy Central's The Colbert Report skewers the political machine and news media with hilarious results [1]. Earlier this week, though, host Stephen Colbert decided to move his cross hairs from Washington D.C. to Hollywood with a segment called "Movies That Are Destroying America: Saving America Edition." In it he focuses on Captain America: The First Avenger as well as Atlas Shrugged: Part I, while also working in digs to several other major Hollywood blockbusters [2] and classics. In typical Colbert fashion, he finds things a layman may have taken for granted and puts a unique and hilarious spin on them. Check it out after the jump. Thanks to the Los Angeles Times [3] for the heads up: The Colbert Report [4] Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes [5],Political Humor & Satire Blog [6],Video Archive [7] [1] http://www.slashfilm.com/votd-stephen-colbert-and-jeff-goldblum-play-out-battleship-the-movie/ [2] http://www.slashfilm.com/stephen-colbert-teams-up-with-spider-man/ [3] http://latimesblogs.

Taylor Schilling as Dagny Taggart, Atlas Shrugged: Part I The marketplace not only shrugged at, but downright turned its back on Atlas Shrugged: Part I, the widely derided film adaptation of Ayn Rand's 1957 novel about the individual's struggle against collectivism and government forces. Directed by Paul Johansson from a screenplay by John Aglialoro and Brian Patrick O'Toole, and starring Taylor Schilling as Rand's heroine Dagny Taggart, Atlas Shrugged was supposed to have been — as the title indicates — part one of what would ultimately become a film trilogy like, huh, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings or Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors. According to reports published in the last couple of days, that was no longer going to happen. Atlas Shrugged co-producer and co-screenwriter John Aglialoro blamed the liberal media and film critics for their willful, politically motivated box-office destruction of his opus. That, however, would be an...

Next time someone talks about how critics don't matter (it's bound to happen with the summer movie wave encroaching) just point to Atlas Shrugged: Part I. The miserable-looking partial adaptation of Ayn Rand's massive novel has taken in a paltry few million in the past two weeks, with a near-50% drop-off between weekends. Now producer John Aglialoro, who spent years trying to make the film, says he might abandon his plans to continue the adaption with two more movies. And while there's a part of me that wants to accept the overwhelming commercial power of the movie critic, in this case I have to wonder if Atlas Shrugged wasn't actually done in by the fact of being a lousy movie. Speaking to the La Times [1], he says, Critics, you won... I’m having deep second thoughts on why I should do Part 2. Deep second thoughts? How about some serious...

Michael Fassbender as Rochester in Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre Russell Brand's Hop Happy; Jake Gyllenhaal's Source Code, AnnaSophia Robb's Soul Surfer, Patrick Wilson's Insidious, Bradley Cooper's Limitless, Cate Blanchett's Hanna Strong Box Office Holdovers Robert Redford's The Conspirator, starring Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood, and Kevin Kline, was down 35% despite the addition of 142 theaters. At no. 13, the period political drama collected $2.28m at 849 locations for an unexciting $2,696 per-theater average according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. Faring much worse was Paul Johansson's Atlas Shrugged: Part I, which lost 48% of its business from last weekend even though it's screening at 55% more theaters. Starring Taylor Schilling as Ayn Rand's independent-minded heroine Dagny Taggart, Atlas Shrugged, despite its popularity among the Tea Party crowd, took in only $879k at 465 locations, averaging a meager $1,890 per site on its second week out.

Taylor Schilling as Ayn Rand's anti-government heroine Dagny Taggart in Paul Johansson's Atlas Shrugged: Part I Reese Witherspoon-Robert Pattinson-Christoph Waltz's Water For Elephants May Reach $20m, Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family Disappoints: Box Office Hop, starring James Marsden and the voice of Russell Brand, was the no. 4 movie on Friday, April 22, adding $4.86m according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. Currently with a $92.9m cume, Hop should — quite appropriately — pass the $100m milestone on Easter Sunday. Opening at no. 5, Disney's African Cats took in $3.3m. Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey, the documentary about African felines is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. Featuring Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Hayden Panettiere, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, and Emma Roberts, Wes Craven's Scream 4 earned $2.75m at no. 6. Next in line were AnnaSophia Robb's Soul Surfer with $2.35m at no.

Csu Archives / Everett Collection Ayn Rand testifying before House Un-American Activities Committee as a friendly witness, on Oct. 20, 1947.

In her old age, after she had stopped writing essay-length exegeses of the moral and political prescriptions contained in her fiction, after her large cult following had left her and dispersed, after the tumult of the 1960s and 1970s, after lung cancer, Ayn Rand spent evenings playing Scrabble with a few regular visitors to her Murray Hill apartment and casting and recasting...

"Atlas Shrugged: Part I," starring Taylor Schilling, Paul Johansson, Michael O'Keefe. Directed by Paul Johansson.

By Arthur Tiersky - April 18 2011

Much to my surprise, the matinee at which I saw “Atlas Shrugged, Part I” drew a pretty sizable crowd, considering that it was a beautiful day and life is short. The intended audience for this film is apparently larger than I thought, and I'll confess that I suspect I'm not among it. I have not read the arboricidal tome on which it is based, nor anything else by Ayn Rand. Beyond that, there's the project's troubled back-story itself.

For the uninitiated: John Aglialoro (who received both producer and co-writer credit), one of the ten richest executives in the country, bought the rights to the book almost two decades ago, envisioning it as a star-studded blockbuster, but when that never came together and his rights were about to lapse he rushed this no-star version into production.

What I'm about to tell you doesn't matter. You've already made up your minds on what your thoughts are on the film and of Ayn Rand. Conservatives and Christians are so fucking paranoid as to their own personal worldviews that anyone disparaging a product in line with their own ideologies are trashing it solely because they harbor a bias. It can't possibly be because the final product is actually inferior. You're not interested in my dimestore second-hand interpretation of the Puritanical Gordon Gekko crackpot movement Ayn Rand hatched called Objectivism, but by virtue of her infusing her novel Atlas Shrugged with it I need to delve somewhat. I know going in, it's a fruitless endeavor -- like Emily Dickinson wrote, "Haters gonna hate." But regardless of whether you feel that America is a welfare state bleeding the rich to slake the slavering laggard poor, or that no matter if it's...