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Ishtar
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The Fortune
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Betrayal
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Play It As It Lays
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The Outfit
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Alex in Wonderland
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The Legend of Lylah Clare
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In The Cool of the Day
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That Cold Day in the Park
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Thumb Trippin'
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Midas Run
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At Long Last Love
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Outcast of the Islands
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All-Day Dogs

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Today's visit to the Straw Dogs interior sound-stage set in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana was a fascinating burrow; ditto visiting the exterior of the farmhouse, located in the fictional Mississippi town of Blackwater, that David and Amy Sumner (James Marsden, Kate Bosworth) move into, live in and then, during the third act, defend in a violent siege by five locals (James Woods, Alexander Skarsgard, Drew Powell, Rhys Coiro, Billy Lush). Except I'm not allowed to write about anything except in a general way, so here's some aroma & atmosphere.

Straw Dogs stars Kate Bosworth, James Marsden on Shreveport sound stage -- Friday, 10.2.09, 4:40 pm.

Exterior of Straw Dogs Sumner house on outskirts of Shreveport -- Friday, 10.2.09, 11:25 am

Straw Dogs local yokel bad guys (l. to r.) Billy Lush, Drew Powell, Rhys Coiro and Alexander Skarsgard -- Friday, 10.2.09, 5:45 pm.

Red River adjacent to Sumner house -- Friday, 10.2.09, 11:20 am

Copy of original Criterion DVD of Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, sitting in office of director-writer Rod Lurie -- Friday, 10.2.09, 4:15 pm.

Tooth Fairy<< previous | next >>Saturday Reckoning

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 2, 2009 at 5:50 PM

comment #1

Stringer Bell says ...

'Superman Returns' reunion. Now I'm depressed.

Speaking of Superman, when are they shooting the next one?

Posted by Stringer Bell at October 2, 2009 7:29 PM

comment #2

berkguru says ...

First and only question I would have asked - "What's the point of this remake again?"

Posted by berkguru at October 2, 2009 7:44 PM

comment #3

LexG says ...

Bosworth is a lovely and charming actresses who hasn't seemed to quite catch on with audiences the way I originally thought....

...but she's also Class President of the Starlets Who Like NOTHING Like They Did Five Years Ago club. Isn't she only like 23 or 24? Every single facial feature appears to be radically different than when she was in Blue Crush/Remember the Titans. Whassup with THAT?

Posted by LexG at October 2, 2009 8:01 PM

comment #4

LexG says ...

Nah, I like the thin stuff, plus she was still pretty smoking even away the weight loss. She still IS smoking. I like her in just about everything, so I'm not bagging on her or anything... it's just like she's morphed into an entirely different person, facially.

Plus last time she was on Letterman, she spoke with a New Zealand accent for some reason.

Posted by LexG at October 2, 2009 8:12 PM

comment #5

Ray says ...

That is hands down the worst picture ever taken of James Marsden. It looks nothing like him at all.

Posted by Ray at October 2, 2009 8:48 PM

comment #6

Hickenlooper says ...

I am really excited about this film. Lurie is a masterful fllmmaker and I'm sure this take on Peckinpah will be smart and entertaining. 'Nothing But The Truth' remains one of the best, most underrated films of last year.

Posted by Hickenlooper at October 2, 2009 9:25 PM

comment #7

TimesArrow says ...

I think Lurie has made some decent movies, with Nothing But The Truth being his best. HOWEVER, calling him masterful is HUGE overstatement. I think George just graduated from the Peter Travers school of film criticism.

Stanley Kubrick was a MASTERFUL filmmaker. As is/was Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Leone, Kurosawa, etc, etc. I would hardly put Lurie in that pantheon.

Posted by TimesArrow at October 2, 2009 9:42 PM

comment #8

DeeZee says ...

Ebert hates tea-baggers, too. http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/10/the_anger_of_the_festering_fri.html
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/15294/news-shorts-october-2nd-2009 suggests Ahnie might make a cameo in Predators, and confirms a Criterion version of Cronos and a DC of Mimic.
New Shutter Island trailer.
http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2009/STUVWXYZ/Shutter-Island/trailer.php
Brazil beats Chicago to the '016 Olympics. :(
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oly2016_bids;_ylt=AiX1wi4GwiN3cMQJEl9JABAb.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTJmNThjNDdsBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDAzL29seTIwMTZfYmlkcwRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzEEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNzYW1iYXJpb3dpbnM-
Looks like Polanski was a rapist and a cheap-skate.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091003/ap_on_en_mo/us_polanski_settlement;_ylt=AiY.fphJwgOG.w.BG.Pk8IuSl7MF;_ylu=X3oDMTJwMm00MnA1BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDAzL3VzX3BvbGFuc2tpX3NldHRsZW1lbnQEY3BvcwM3BHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDcG9sYW5za2lhZ3Jl

Posted by DeeZee at October 2, 2009 9:54 PM

comment #9

jasctt says ...

WTF is this being remade?

Sorry, but NBTT was ONLY good for Vera F., who deserved an Oscar for her work in that hack of a film, with one of the absolute dumbest last scenes in the history of movies.

Again, another pointless remake.

Posted by jasctt at October 2, 2009 10:14 PM

comment #10

stillwater says ...

Somehow Peckinpah seems like the WORST director I can think of to try and remake. Ever heard a Bob Dylan cover that was better than the original? (If Roger Mguinn even pops into your head, you're a soulless troll). Seems like the same think with someone like Peckinpah. Asking for trouble.

Posted by stillwater at October 2, 2009 11:11 PM

comment #11

Gordon27 says ...

"Ever heard a Bob Dylan cover that was better than the original?"

I agree with Dylan that Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" is superior overall, if only for the arrangement.

Also, the O'Jay's version of "Emotionally Yours", and I think there's one other one, but I can't remember what.

Posted by Gordon27 at October 2, 2009 11:24 PM

comment #12

Muscle McGurk says ...

Wisecrack of the day goes to Hickenlooper by a country mile.

Posted by Muscle McGurk at October 3, 2009 12:08 AM

comment #13

dinovelvet says ...

Who replaced James Marsden with Billy Crudup in that photo? Anyway, how come Marsden isn't a huge A-list star (yet?). He looks like Tom Cruise, appeared in a successful superhero franchise, but hasn't quite hit the bigtime. Maybe Straw dogs will put him on a new level. BTW - possible Sinatra biopic contender?

Posted by dinovelvet at October 3, 2009 12:25 AM

comment #14

great scott says ...

@DeeZee - What exactly does any of that have to do with Straw Dogs? You should change your name to Thread Hijacker #1.

Posted by great scott at October 3, 2009 4:41 AM

comment #15

bonjolie says ...

I have some definite opinions about remakes...however, I am putting them aside because I am such a huge fan of Alexander Skarsgard. The guy is amazing. Granted, I am not enthused that he's being cast as the heavy...but he'll shine in whatever he does. Love James Marsden...he definitely should be bigger than he is...the guy has it all. As for Bosworth...ehhh she does nothing for me.

Posted by bonjolie at October 3, 2009 6:47 AM

comment #16

Bilge says ...

If you talk to James Woods, you should ask him about his role in Elia Kazan's (fantastic and underrated) THE VISITORS, which is a film with some surprising similarities to STRAW DOGS (they even came out around the same time).

Posted by Bilge at October 3, 2009 7:05 AM

comment #17

Breedlove says ...

I saw NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH a couple of weeks ago on dvd, and just loved it. It is friggin' great, one of last year's best movies.

This certainly seems like an odd follow-up. Lurie's strength seems to be as a writer, particularly with plot - he's come up with some really interesting stories to tell over the years. So a remake in general, let alone one by an auteur like Peckinpah, seems odd. The only way this will make a cent is if they market it almost as a horror film.

Bosworth was so gorgeous a few years back and always looks much too thin nowadays, plus it will be difficult to get her amazingly bland, charisma-free perf in SUPERMAN RETURNS out of my head.

She would look sooooo much hotter if she gained 20 pounds.

Glad to see Jimmy Woods making movies again.

Posted by Breedlove at October 3, 2009 8:08 AM

comment #18