Is America ready for a Guantanamo comedy in its movie theaters? New Line Cinema and the producers of “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” seem to think so. John Cho and Kal Penn are back on the big screen to reprise their beloved roles of Harold & Kumar, but this time the triviality of an epic quest for White Castle has been replaced with a romp where they get mistakenly thrown into the United States Military’s most infamous prison. Expect stoner humor, bodily function jokes and plenty of sexual insecurity but this time around the setting is considerably more politically charged than the New Jersey suburbs of their quest for diminutive, yet strangely addictive late night hamburgers.

Critic Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews incitefully sums it up as:

“…a latter-day Abbott and Costello flick, where the monster they encounter isn’t Frankenstein, but the Bush Administration.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Guillermo del Toro has been chosen to direct the new film version of “The Hobbit” for New Line Cinema. The Mexican born director will film J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novel, which serves as a prequel to his subsequent Lord of the Rings Trilogy, in two parts. Del Toro has agreed to move to New Zealand for four years to complete the films which will be produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.

Del Toro’s previous director include “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Hellboy” and “Mimic”. According to the director:

“I am indeed blessed to become a part of the filmmaking community that Peter, Fran and their extraordinary team of collaborators have created in New Zealand. Contributing to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ legacy is an absolute dream come true.”

Read the rest of this entry »

While The Golden Compass continues to flounder here in the US (it should be noted that it is doing well overseas), New Line Cinema has moved on, putting months of bad press and legal battles to rest by making a deal with Peter Jackson and putting The Hobbit into production. He won’t be directing this go around, but he will be executive producer on the project and it’s sequel. I have a feeling the young man below will be quite excited: