Back when we last checked on the news of the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, the big news was that the movie would be dropping the “Avatar” appellation so as not to conflict with an upcoming James Cameron film releasing around the same time. Fine. Good to know, even.

But what about what’s happening with the movie so far? There’s been precious little news. Until this week!

Coming Soon has an interview with the director up, wherein we learn why Shyamalan wanted to do the film:

“It was just the story. I just loved the story,” he told us. “I loved the characters in the story and I felt like I could be me inside this larger canvas of this very long-form movie. I think it inherently had kind of family issues and serious larger topics–at the center, genocide–all kinds of stuff. Cultural differences at the center. It has Buddhism, Hinduism, things I’m interested in. It does have martial arts in a way that’s not bang bang bang, but more about the person mastering yourself and the things that I love. I took martial arts for a long time. A ten-year-old at the center. That point of view felt good, like I could do my thing.”

I also received a press release from Nickelodeon about M. Night Shyamalan’s appearance at Licensing Show yesterday, where his enthusiasm was readily apparent:

During the presentation for The Last Airbender, Academy Award®-nominated writer/director Shyamalan commented, “Casting has begun and we’ve seen thousands of kids. I believe we’ve found the next superstars.” In recounting his excitement about the project and how he got involved, Shyamalan recalled, “I called up my agent and said I have a movie I want to do. We phoned Paramount and Nickelodeon, and told them that we think they have the next STAR WARS.”

Shyamalan also discussed how he came to work on the Avatar film, crediting his daughter as his first introduction to the action-oriented series. “I sat down and watched four television episodes back-to-back with my kids. We were riveted. I said, ‘This would make a phenomenal movie!’ My wife said, ‘This is the one you’ve been waiting for.”

Exciting stuff! I can’t believe we still have to wait until 2010 for the movie.

I don’t know why this little piece of news delights me so, but it does. I mean, here we are in the age of the Nintendo Wii, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday:

It was Christmas, and my brother and I unwrapped an Atari console amidst whoops and hollers. We spent the remainder of the day playing Pong, Tank, and also a game I think was called Adventure (oh, it was! Here it is!). We thought we were the luckiest and coolest kids around.

I tried to explain Space Invaders to my son the other day and he just stared at me blankly for a while. Then he rallied and started peppering me with questions. Can you fly? (No.) Can you get new weapons? (No.) Well, can you set off a special shield or pass through to a secret level? (No and no.) Finally he gave up and said that maybe I just don’t like games all that much, because that sounded boring.

(I then made him sit through a twenty minute lecture on how I used to walk uphill both ways through the snow, barefoot, to school every day.)

Anyway, you’ll never guess who’s making a Nolan Bushnell biopic:

Leonardo DiCaprio has more fake IDs than Fletch.

The ubiquitous actor-producer has just become attached to star in “Atari,” a pitch that writers Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman sold to Paramount on Friday about the godfather of the video game industry, Nolan Bushnell. DiCaprio’s Appian Way shingle is producing the biopic, which the filmmakers hope will play with elements from “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “Tucker.”

Bushnell was an engineering student, puzzle-lover and game enthusiast (chess, Go, early computer games) who went from fixing broken pinball machines to launching Atari Corp., a video game manufacturer, in the early ’70s. Its first product was a little game called Pong that transfixed kids in suburban rec rooms across the country and led to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of video game sales. Within a few years, he sold the company to Warner Communications for $28 million.

During the next three decades, Bushnell started many other tech ventures and also created Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theaters.

See? Space Invaders is too interesting.

If you’ve been to the movie theater at all this year, you’ve likely already seen a trailer or twelve for Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks’ latest offering.

My children have been begging to see it for, oh, about three months. Thanks, DreamWorks! Ahem.

But I have a confession to make, too: Every time I see a trailer, I find myself chuckling. I mean, it does look like fun.

Here’s my favorite one:

(”Here, have a dumpling!” Gets me every time.)

Opening weekend is fast upon us, but in the meantime, here’s a few links to get you thinking about it (because, really, what you need to prepare for an animated family film is some deep thought).

• The Tomatometer is showing an overwhelmingly favorable rating, so far.
• Coming Soon has a great, in-depth interview with co-director John Stevenson.
• And finally, if you’re a big Jack Black fan, you’ll want to check out this commentary on whether or not his career will survive this film. I don’t anticipate a problem, but the author makes some interesting points (see: Robin Williams in Aladdin making himself even more annoying than before).

Now there’s nothing left to do but wait for the opening. And maybe practice your kung fu in secret. Hey, to each his own.

Well, I saw the new Indiana Jones movie this past weekend. We opted not to take the kids, after all, because I would hate to sully my title as the Meanest Mother Ever. But my husband and I, we were ready for some good old-fashioned Indy mayhem. The reviews were mixed, but we headed out with high hopes.

Our verdict? If you grew up on Raiders of the Lost Ark, this is a great film to take you on a fun little stroll down memory lane. It’s not the greatest movie I’ve ever seen, but I found it eminently satisfying for what it was. I’m glad we went.

(Most of the reviews complaining about the film are saying that it’s too campy or too predictable, to which I merely say, “I’m sorry, but have you seen the other movies?” Of course it’s campy and predictable. That’s sort of the point.)

Anyway, whether you’ve seen the movie yet or not, here’s a few little Indiana Jones themed distractions for you to check out this morning:

• AOL has 20 Fun Fact About Indiana Jones. (Did you know George Lucas wanted Tom Selleck to play Indy?)
• Dose has Ten Things Indiana Jones Can Do Better Than Your Grandpa. (So, your grandpa fought Nazis during WWII, for example, but Indy fights them before, during, and after.)
• Finally, MTV tells us 10 Things You Need To Know about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, including the lowdown on Shia LaBeouf’s groin injury during filming (frankly, I could’ve lived happily without those details, thanks).

May I also just point out that Harrison Ford is now 65 years old, and looking really, really good? I thought he was maybe 50. I’m off to buy myself a fedora, as I now suspect it’s the key to staying youthful….

It’s so not fair.

Why is it that as women age, they lose their appeal, but when men start getting a little grayer and ruddier they generally just become more delicious? (Hey, I’m a mom, but I’m not dead.) As I was saying: Not fair.

I have no idea why that’s on my mind right now. Oh, why, helloooooo there, Harrison Ford! When Raiders of the Lost Ark burst onto the big screen I was not yet old enough to appreciate the excellent eye candy that Ford presents, but as the movies continued I began to see the appeal. And now—with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opening this weekend—I must say that I think he’s still looking mighty fine. See for yourself:

If you, like me, grew up on Indiana Jones, you’re now looking at a childhood treasure come full circle. With this latest installment, it’s your chance to share the adventure with your kids, and to listen to them hoot and holler and roll your eyes when you tell them that you saw the first movie back in fifth grade when the big boxes of candy only cost $.75.

Checking The Tomatometer yields excellent news; it looks like the new movie will not disappoint. But PG-13? Hmmmm. I’ll have to do some thinking, as I’m not sure my kids are ready for that yet. Maybe I’ll have to go see it without them, even. (Hey, the Indiana Jones LEGO sets are all on sale. I could assuage my guilt with one of those.)

And then there would be no eye-rolling and and I could just enjoy Harrison Ford, erm, I mean, the movie, in peace.

I’m labeling this “retro” even though this is one of the few times I won’t give you a long, drawn-out “when I watched this as a wee lass” sort of story to go along with an old show. Oh, sure—I grew up on Sesame Street and Superfriends and I’m only too happy to bore you with the tales of how important those shows were to me in my tender youth, but this time it’s different.

Because Fraggle Rock didn’t come out until I was already in junior high, see. So all I can tell you about it from my personal experience is that I babysat for some kids who loved it, and every time I let them watch it I found myself humming the theme song for days on end. I would be walking to the bus stop in the morning—”Down at Fraggle Rock!”—or working on a math problem—”Down at Fraggle Rock!”—or looking for a snack after school—”Down at Fraggle Rock!”—and often I wondered why I could only remember that single line. And then I would go listen to some Van Halen to try to get it out of my brain.

What? No, that doesn’t have anything to do with anything. Just sharing my Fraggle Rock experience, is all.

Regardless of the earworm properties of their theme song, Fraggle Rock enjoyed a huge following and great success; so it should come as no surprise at all to learn that it’ll soon be coming to the big screen as a feature film:

Cory Edwards, who directed the animated “Hoodwinked!” for TWC, will helm the picture and write the screenplay. The Jim Henson Co. will produce and TWC will distribute.

Just like the series, the film will be populated by a mix of human characters and Fraggle Rock puppets. TWC co-chair Harvey Weinstein, who has been steering his company more aggressively into the family film arena, made the marriage with Lisa Henson, who runs JHC with her co-CEO brother, Brian Henson.

Ahmet Zappa will be exec producer with Brian Inerfeld.

It would be wrong for me to hope that they come up with a new theme song, right? Probably it is. But I can hope.

Well, Speed Racer was… about what I expected. If you’re planning to see it and haven’t, yet, consider taking some dramamine. Better yet, consider doing something else entirely! Or—here’s an idea—you could wait until Friday and go see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian instead!

There was a nice piece about the next Narnia film in Variety last week:

Showing a surer sense of cinematic values in his second live-action venture, “Shrek” vet Adamson stages the surging action with verve and a respect for old-school virtues, rather than tricking it up with modern affectations. Caspian’s flight from the Telmarine castle — a splendidly iconic one built on a rock and approachable only by bridge over a deep ravine — and stealthy return in the dead of night are dramatically filmed in considerable darkness. The reappearance of Tilda Swinton’s White Witch is a riveting surprise but has the unfortunate side effect of making you wish she’d step out of her pane of ice, as she desperately desires, to take a central role here.

When all is said and done, this is a pretty straightforward war film. Once Caspian escapes, Miraz’s men methodically prepare to conquer the wayward Narnians by building a big bridge across the river to the forest. Final combat comes in two stages. First, to avoid carnage on both sides, a winner-takes-all mano a mano is arranged between the vain Miraz and Peter (who for 15 years was High King of Narnia, after all). Scene is tensely and intensely enacted, with some unusual details.

When this doesn’t do the trick, however, the two armies pour it on, with the balance swaying this way and that for nearly a half-hour of CGI-dominated mayhem. Given that there’s no question as to how it will turn out, and that Aslan will eventually intervene at the crucial moment, pic is still able to play a couple visual-effects trump cards that provide something audiences haven’t seen before.

It sounds like fans of Narnia won’t want to miss this one. And there can’t be two movies I’m really looking forward to, in a row, that end up getting panned by the critics… right?

Don’t answer that. I’m plugging my ears until Thursday, and then I may peek at the reviews before the weekend.

As I’ve mentioned before, Speed Racer has been a hotly-anticipated movie in my household. I’d be hard-pressed to tell you who’s more excited about it, actually—the kids or my husband. Now it’s finally almost here and I have some good news and some bad news.

Good news first? Okay! Check out this Go Speed Weekend! contest, where a bit of creativity could land you a weekend trip to Los Angeles or other cool prizes. Entries are being accepted through Tuesday, May 13th, 2008, so you still have time to enter if you have a need for speed swag.

The bad news, I’m afraid, is that the critics aren’t exactly embracing Speed Racer with enthusiasm. The Tomatometer is running towards “rotten,” with reviewer quotes indicating that this movie is best handled with a few analgesics:

Maybe every generation gets its own “Tron.” Not to whine, but: my eyeballs were on fire.

Kyle Smith
KyleSmithOnline.com

Oh. Dear. Um… ouch?

The lure of seeing this in Imax is certainly… ummm… waning in the face of the reviews, I have to say. But after all of this anticipation… I just don’t know. We may see it anyway.

I’ll bring my sunglasses.

Dear Hollywood,

Sincerely,
The Toy Box Mommy

Seriously, people. I’m experiencing some hefty deja vu, here. Some books are meant to be enjoyed as books. Period. That’s part of their allure.

I guess Hollywood didn’t get my memo, though. Hugo Cabret is slated to become a feature film:

“Ice Age” helmer Chris Wedge has signed on to direct Brian Selznick’s magic-themed children’s novel “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” for Graham King’s GK Films, Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and Warner Bros.

“The Aviator” scribe John Logan has been tapped to pen the adaptation.

King and Infinitum Nihil’s Christi Dembrowski will produce the live-action film, which centers on an orphaned boy who secretly lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station and looks after the clocks. He gets caught up in a mystery adventure when he attempts to repair a mechanical man.

The studio is eyeing a fall start date.

I’m crushed. It’s not that I think it won’t make a good movie—it probably will—but it will be something entirely different from the experience you get in reading it, and I fear that it can’t help but somehow degrade the tale, that way. Great books should just be great books, sometimes.

I know most people disagree with me. That’s fine. Why, back in my day, we read books, and movies consisted of hand shadows made on rocks with a flashlight. Harumph.

Now, where did I put my Geritol…?

There’s always just a little bit of apprehension inherent in a favorite character from childhood being turned into a star of the big screen. Will they get the story right? Will they get the casting right? Will it be the way it should be or will they blow it?

Oh, is it just me who thinks all of those things? C’mon. You can admit it. I won’t tell anyone. It’ll just be between you and me, Internet.

Anyway, this weekend’s opening of Iron Man gave me that all-too-familiar feeling of… worry. It’s such a meaty story with great characters. Have they pulled it off? Dare I check the reviews?

I dared, and then I heaved a big sigh of relief. The Tomatometer is registering unexpectedly high—94% Fresh, in fact, the last time I checked—and it appears that the hype surrounding this project may well be warranted. So far, the critics love it.

And if you’re the sort of person who loves a little backstory, be sure to check out Newsarama’s Inside the Iron Man piece by Joe Tirella, too. It’s a nice little peek into title actor Robert Downey Jr.’s journey in this project. I, for one, feel better already to know that he read decades-worth of Iron Man comics to prepare.

I guess I know what we’ll be doing this weekend….