A Risky reader named Lisa tipped me to the Movies They Should Make blog, which has fun with devising posters for nonexistent movies that are designed around the wishful thinking of a movie fan.

There’s not much on the site at the moment, but what’s there gives you a pretty good idea of the concept, which is fairly well executed by using familiar elements to construct doctored one-sheets. And while the anonymous creator needs some help with spelling (John C. Reilly? Shia LeBeouf?), some of the bits are funny.

Thank God for Greencine’s Dave Hudson, who does the heavy lifting of trawling for movie stories and posting links with appropriate related content. He has many of the latest top tens, including Newsweek’s David Ansen and the LAT critics, and also has round-ups on the latest reviews of The Pursuit of Happyness, The Good German, Letters from Iwo Jima, Dreamgirls, Inland Empire and others.

On The Pursuit of Happyness, I suspect that many critics’ ingrained assumption is that heartlifting subject matter and movie star equals studio glossy entertainment. But Italian director Gabriele Mucchino avoids most of the conventional pitfalls and gives us a rather gritty portrait–frightening, really–of a man on the edge of poverty and homelessness who has to pull himself out of a deep trench and take care of his kid at the same time. This movie is a formidable accomplishment. Yes, we know the father, sensitively played by Will Smith, will prove to be a winner. But this movie tackles tricky racial issues in a head-on way that perhaps a homegrown director might not have. Pursuit of Happyness is connecting with audiences—it opened well this weekend — and will prove to be a huge holiday hit. And Smith will earn his Oscar nomination.

Many people dismiss MySpace by saying: “It’s for kids.” But I’ve had an all-too addictive time with it, adding friends and such groups as the Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino, and yes, Movie Whores. People use it for dating, sharing and messaging but they also use it for networking and promotion.

Obviously music dominates, from established groups like R.E.M. to little bands trying to get some traction. Film is a much smaller component, but it’s growing as indie filmmakers push their wares and share info. Film festivals like Tribeca, AFI Fest, SXSW, Telluride and CineVegas have MySpace sites, as well as many local film groups for indie filmmakers: Austin is all over the place. Exhibitors like L.A.’s New Beverly Cinema and the American Cinematheque post their schedules on Myspace. Filmmaker Magazine is embracing the site big-time. Unfortunately, while big marketers can spend lavishly to promote movies like X-Men 3, it doesn’t seem to work that well for small films with low awareness like Roadside Attractions’ Puffy Chair. Or does it? Any indie success stories out there?

[posted by Sheigh Crabtree]

Check it out: Anne taped a segment for "Ebert & Roeper" up in Chicago this week. Her segment will air in New York on Saturday, December 23rd at 6:30pm on WNYW (Fox)
and in Los Angeles on Sunday, December 24th at 6:30pm on KABC (ABC).
 

Film critic’s blogs are cropping up faster than kudzu. Check out Philadelphia Inquirer critic Steven Rea’s on movies online, the blog he launched at the Toronto International Film Festival last month. He promises that he’s updating it “on an almost-nanosecond-changing basis.” Best of luck with that.

In Sunday’s NYT feature on East Coast Oscar parties, NYT media reporter David Carr, who filed an excellent Oscar blog last year as The Carpetbagger, makes the mistake all New Yorkers make: they think they’re the center of the universe. When it comes to Oscar, I can safely say, they are not. Of course, the LAT’s print and online versions of “The Envelope” and this NYT Oscar-hooked blog are designed to do the same thing: sell Oscar ads.

Welcome back, Mr. Bagger. With this throat-clearing story over, you can now do some serious Oscar blogging. (The Carpetbagger starts again Monday morning, November 6.) Truth is, having covered Telluride and Toronto and filed my long-lead Premiere Oscar predicts two weeks ago, I’m already a little tired of Oscar watching. The AFM and AFI and Oscar cocktails are in full swing. I sat out my party invites last night, and I’m doing it again tonight. I’ve got to pace myself and make a few get-out-the-vote phone calls. First things first!

I was disappointed when Sony canceled the early Casino Royale screening Friday afternoon (no print, apparently, the good print went to NY, the bastards). I’m in the mood for some unpretentious red meat. Wednesday, apparently, is the new L.A. date. Maybe New York is the center of the universe after all.

Thanks to Ambrose Heron for this sharp defense of movie blogs. I suspect that many critics who are threatened by blogs have not read them. There are so many different kinds. Check out the links on this blog to see the range of smart writing about cinema on the web–including increasing numbers of bloggers who are professional critics.

Updated 2x (reviews, video)

— posted by Sheigh

While we were all breathlessly reporting the viral gyrations of Snakes on a Plane before it opened — the best new B movie any of us we were likely to see this summer — the movie that we laughed about among ourselves in the newsroom was (then in production) Black Sheep.

When the SOaP hype reached fever pitch, one of
us would inevitably hold up a small red and black poster with a deranged sheep on it, and stage whisper: "There are 40 million sheep in New

Zealand… and they’re pissed off!"

So it is with no small amount of glee that we pass along David Poland’s MCN hotblog rumor that Kiwi director Jonathan King’s "Black Sheep" is looking like a hot sale at TIFF. Poland is guessing that Fox Atomic, now rich in cash from its "Little Miss Sunshine" success, is the most logical buyer. The movie’s "gag is broad" and "people love farm animals," Poland surmises. And let’s face it, the critter reversal holds much more appeal than SOaP’s trapped slitherers. Snakes stay true to their nature — they just want to get off the mutherf*ckin’ plane. These genetically altered sheep, on the other hand, turn into blood thirsty maiming mutton looking to terrorize a small pastoral town.

Peter Jackson’s WETA Workshop provided the film’s animatronic puppets and practical effects. Bloody-disgusting.com has a few good Black Sheep stills.

Update: Twitch has posted two Black Sheep film reviews out of Toronto.

Todd writes: "It can be surprisingly difficult to make an intentional cult film but King has done it here. The script is smart enough, striking the right balance between self aware cleverness and balls out gore, the effects strong enough, and all involved clearly big enough fans of the genre that everything comes together to capture just the right mood and tone. Very fun stuff."

Mack writes: "Black Sheep is flat out fantastic fun! It is a healthy balance of humor and horror, never shying on either, with a splash of bestiality."

Black Sheep clip: film footage, filmmakers

• Collect those coins to cough up for downloadable movies on iTunes and Amazon. More tk 9/12.
• Sodom is for lovers: Michael Moore confronts anti-gay church with a busload full of gay guys.
• Child soldiers are scary: Magnolia Pictures’ Jesus Camp trailer is getting passed around more than a mattress on the 405. It’s the latest doc from Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, the filmmakers behind Baltimore heartbreaker The Boys of Baraka.
• Cartoonbrew teases The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D.
• Fametracker managed to score an exclusive interview with Nicolas Cage’s Hair. When Cage walked onstage to promote Ghost Rider at Comic-Con in July, his coif caused quite a stir in the press section.
• Feng Xiaogang’s The Banquet runs out of dim sum in Venice. Second seating scheduled for Toronto.
• The animal kingdom crowns a Great Barrier Reef sting ray its new head of state. No surprise to Trey Parker and Matt Stone who called it ages ago on South Park.
• THR reviews The Black Book | The Fountain | The Last King of Scotland | Bobby | A Few Days of September | and many more.

— posted by Sheigh

MCN is running an early rave of Todd Fields’ "Little Children," starring Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly and Patrick Wilson (left). A suggestion that the first trailer only narrowly teases at the movie’s full scope is a relief. MCN review. [posted by Sheigh]

No hipster hot spot is sacred. First they parked a yellow microbus in Kitson, next they published a Black Dahlia tour map a la 1947project, and today it seems they’ve got their hooks into Threadless.

Studio movie marketing departments continue to annex niche blogs and local trend spots in desperate pursuit of early word of mouth and a chattering class of fans to do the heavy lifting for them.

In recent days we’ve covered Fox Searchlight’s promotional t-shirt tie-in for "Little Miss Sunshine" at L.A.’s Kitson boutique. Later we did a rambler on Universal’s "Black Dahlia" promotional tie-ins with 1947Project and LATimes.

Today brings word of a DreamWorks’ Threadless t-shirt contest for "The Last Kiss" spearheaded by none other than the movie’s star Zach Braff. The actor has in the past worn Threadless tees on FOX’s "Scrubs."

There’s a new film critics blog, The Shock Treatment , which is fostering a community for amateur and professional critics alike. Just post your own review and it’s stored at the site for further perusal by one and all.