Cinematical

"Well, you tried it just for once, found it all right for kicks.
But now you found out that it's a habit that sticks,
and you're an orgasm addict." – The Buzzcocks

The new movie Choke, adapted from the Chuck Palahniuk novel, is about a sex addict (Sam Rockwell) who, in one element of the plot, hooks up with other sex addicts who attend the same Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings as him. Ah, the irony. The same thing happened to Sam Malone on Cheers, if I'm not mistaken, which makes the joke around 20 years old. Yet, despite that fact, sexual addiction as a term and a (non-DSM-recognized) medical problem seem fairly new to cinema.

Sure, there have been sex addicts in films for many decades, but they were more likely to be described as nymphomaniacs, lechers or typical men. Think of Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind, a number of the female characters created by Tennessee Williams and certainly the locked up nymphos in Shock Corridor. In the past few years, however, there have been a slew of actual "sexaholics," both male and female, though some aren't exactly referred to in such a manner.

When I learned that the Fairfax 5 Theatres, in Fairfax, California, was to be installed with a solar photovoltaic system, I immediately thought of that old joke (unfortunately directed towards a certain nationality) about the idiotic invention of a solar-powered flashlight. Movie projectors running on solar-powered electricity? Absurd. Especially since most people go to the movies at night! But, of course, my initial thoughts were just as stupid as the flashlight idea, even if I was merely trying to think of a corresponding joke and all the time actually knew, obviously, that solar energy isn't only useful during the hours that the sun is out.

The second thing I thought of, though, all joking aside, was the possibility of a lowered electricity bill. One of the costliest parts of running a movie theater is all the electricity used for lighting, projection, air conditioning, etc. It's these costs that primarily keep concession prices up, as they're a major part of a cinema's constant overhead. Certainly Cinema West, the company that owns Fairfax 5 Theatres, is thinking about the environmental benefits of solar energy, and their new system is indeed reportedly expected to offset nearly 1,000 tons of greenhouse gases. But surely the cost cutting was a big incentive, too. Over the 30-year life of the system, Cinema West is looking to save more than $627,000.

Are you ready to see Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as partners in Righteous Kill? Is it the casting pair-up you've been waiting 35 years for? Or does it feel too strange to watch a whole movie in which they're all buddy buddy? Perhaps you were fully satisfied with their showdown as enemies in Heat, even though the esteemed veteran actors had much less screen time together. Personally, I like the idea of them going head to head better, but that's mainly because they're both such huge figures that having them team up seems a bit unfair to the other side. As enemies they're like the Incredible Hulk and the Abomination or Iron Man and Iron Monger, to compare them with recent superpowered showdowns in cinema.

It's difficult to choose the better actor of the two, or even decide who's been the more successful Hollywood player. De Niro's been in a lot more films, but his ratio of bad films to good might have suffered as a result. Meanwhile, they've both arguably become too much of caricatures of themselves, to the point where it's sometimes hard to tell which performances are intentional self-parodies and which are accidental. However, despite the difficulty of pitting De Niro against Pacino for a general comparative showdown, there are a number of easily corresponding roles among them. So, just for fun, I've come up with seven specific character showdowns, chosen my pick for which is the better performance, and invite you all to vote on your favorite, whether you agree or disagree with my own.

After the jump ... De Niro vs. Pacino -- it's on!

When Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain's running mate, people were quick to name the lookalikes who could play her in a movie. But it took Matt Damon to tell us what kind of movie it would actually be. Fearfully predicting that McCain will die in office, the actor says Palin's advancement to the presidency would be like the plot of a bad Disney movie. He even imagines a scene from the movie involving Palin's showdown against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin "using the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey rink." Basically he's described something along the lines of King Ralph, only with a hockey mom president instead of an American slob turned British monarch.

Of course, Damon's snide comments are probably meant to be a joke, even if he looks 100% serious while saying it. But the thing he fails to realize is that America loves these kinds of "bad" Disney movies involving fish out of water stories and simple folk characters who rise to the top. "The Hockey Mom" would certainly be a bigger hit than Damon's non Ocean's and Bourne movies. So, his attempt to humorously describe a bad scenario may in fact be welcomed as a heartwarming and crowd-pleasing possible future. Either way, his intended criticism of Palin is just the latest in useless political commentary from celebrities, something we can't get away from listening to, whether because of the media's attention to it or due to our own obsessions with what's on movie stars' minds.

To hear the rest, check out the clip after the jump. And to see Gina Gershon portray Palin in new Funny or Die spoof, click here.

In the last few years, Nicole Kidman has starred in a number of movies that underperformed at the box office, but last year's disappointing grosses for The Interpreter The Invasion, The Golden Compass and even Margot at the Wedding likely contributed to her being named the least bankable actor in Hollywood by Forbes magazine. Apparently, given her exorbitant asking price, Forbes estimates her movies only earn, on average, as much from ticket sales as she earns for appearing in them. This is a major drop compared to last year, when Kidman's films were estimated to gross $8 for every $1 she's paid.

After Kidman, Forbes names Jennifer Garner, whose '07 films The Kingdom and Catch and Release did poorly enough that the runaway success of Juno couldn't help her ranking. On average her films grossed $3.60 for every $1 she took home. In third place, not surprisingly, is Kidman's ex, Tom Cruise, who bombed big time with Lions for Lambs last year. Others making the list of most overpaid actors include Nicolas Cage, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey, Cate Blanchett and Will Ferrell. Meanwhile, Russell Crowe, who topped the list last year, is considered more fairly paid this year thanks to the success of American Gangster.

Such fluctuations in actors' bankability only continues the debate regarding the importance of movie stars these days. Certainly all the names on Forbes' list are big names who occasionally headline blockbuster hits, but are they actually significant to moviegoers' attraction to a movie? Apparently not.

So, which actor do you think is most in need of a major reality check before his or her next major paycheck?

The director of The Hills Have Eyes II is teaming up with the star of the Prom Night remake for what should logically add up to the worst horror film ever made. Variety reports that Brittany Snow has been cast as the lead in the video game adaptation Clock Tower, to be directed by Martin Weisz. Again playing a teenager, despite the fact that she looks 40 (she's really 22), Snow will apparently fill the role of Jennifer Simpson, a 15-year-old girl Variety describes as "a troubled psychiatric patient who witnessed her parents die and is constantly plagued by religious imagery."

That sounds a lot less frightening than the actual game, but either the trade received a watered-down synopsis or Clock Tower will indeed be a disappointment to gamers. I've never played any of the Clock Tower games myself, but from what I've gathered from fan feedback, they're actually pretty scary. They center on a serial killer called the Scissorman, who stalks the player, who must survive by figuring out clues (feel free to correct me or elaborate if you've played).

Paramount family division Nickelodeon Movies is set to make feature films based on the cute and highly collectible toys manufactured by Kidrobot, according to Variety. The homogeneously shaped yet heterogeneously decorated toys, which are smooth, cartoon-like action figures adorned with limited-edition designs created by well-known international artists, are to star in a series of films mixing animation and live-action. The studio will work with Kidrobot owner W!LDBRAIN, the animation studio that also produces the show Yo Gabba Gabba! for Nick Jr., and original owner/creator Paul Budnitz, who still functions as president of Kidrobot. Two years ago, when W!LDBRAIN bought stake in Kidrobot, the company's main goal was to produce TV series, feature films and direct-to-video projects involving the toys.

Unlike many toys-turned-movies, though, the Munny and Dunny (and Labbit, etc.) figures from Kidrobot have no backstory, so producer Scott Aversano (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events), who heads the Nickelodeon and MTV film labels, is seeking a screenwriter to come up with something involving kids who are somehow transported into the "edgy world" populated by the creatures.

They've both been Mean Girls, both acted for Nick Cassavetes, both appeared in wedding movies and now both Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried will have shared the honor of being the leading lady in a Nicholas Sparks adaptation. For McAdams, it was 2005's beloved weepy The Notebook; for Seyfried, rising fast after starring in the hugely popular Mamma Mia!, it's Dear John. According to Variety, the 22-year-old has been cast as Savannah, a virginal college student who falls in love with a soldier on leave (and named John, of course) immediately prior to 9/11. Kind of like Pearl Harbor but with more letters than explosions.

The soldier is being played by Channing Tatum, who will be fresh from G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra when Dear John hits theaters, likely a year from now. Meanwhile, Seyfried will have costarred in the third season of HBO's Big Love, which begins airing in January, and opposite Megan Fox in the Diablo Cody-scripted Jennifer's Body. Dear John is being directed by Lasse Hallström (Chocolat) from an adaptation scripted by Jamie Linden (We Are Marshall). Shooting begins next month in South Carolina.

While the husband and wife team of Kieran and Michele Mulroney wait for their Justice League script to finally make it to the big screen, the duo won't be sitting around idly. Instead, they will make their feature directing debut with an indie movie titled Paper Man, which they also wrote together. According to Variety, the film is a "coming-of-middle-age comedy" about a friendship between a failed author and a teenager, and the project was developed through the Sundance Institute's screenwriters and directors labs. Jeff Daniels, who did his best work recently as a successful novelist in The Squid and the Whale, has been cast as the author. The teenager part has apparently not been filled, but Daniels will be joined in the film by Ryan Reynolds and Lisa Kudrow in unspecified roles.

With a November 12 start date, we'll probably be seeing this before we see Justice League, even though Paper Man probably won't reach theaters until 2010, following a premiere at Sundance that year. Of course, we can at least hope Variety doesn't have the full plot details, and Paper Man is actually a supehero movie, too. Perhaps either the author or the teen has the power to take on the characteristics of paper (he'd always win in a fight against rock-like individuals such as The Thing, but lose to Scissors Man), hence the superhero-like title. Unfortunately, there's more likelihood that the teen is a gifted writer and Daniels becomes his mentor, Finding Forrester style.

The basic plot of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window -- man believes he witnessed a murder, has to prove it really happened -- has been reused for so many films and TV shows that it's not that surprising when another homage or ripoff comes around. Yet last year's Disturbia, starring Shia LaBeouf as a guy under house arrest who thinks his neighbor is a serial killer, bore close enough resemblance to be labeled an update on Hitchcock's film. And now, not surprisingly, Dreamworks, its parent company Viacom and Universal Pictures, are being sued for creating an unauthorized remake.*

The defendant in the case is not exactly related to Hitchcock's film, though; the lawsuit was filed by Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust, which owns the rights to Cornell Woolrich's original short story "It Had to Be Murder" (called "Murder from a Fixed Viewpoint" in the article), upon which Rear Window is based. Film business followers may remember the name Sheldon Abend from the important Supreme Court copyright case of 1990, Stewart v. Abend, in which Abend sued James Stewart and the production company Patron Inc. after Rear Window was aired on television.

If you've seen both Disturbia and Rear Window do you think the case is valid? Is Disturbia really that much more of a ripoff than Manhattan Murder Mystery, Head Over Heels and most of Brian DePalma's early career? Even Antonioni's Blow Up and Coppola's The Conversation are fairly similar in concept. Obviously some works, such as the Simpsons episode in which Bart thinks Flanders murdered his wife, are okay because they fall under the permissions of parody.

*Note: We accidentally listed Steven Spielberg as an executive producer on Disturbia, though he was not. That information has been removed from the post. [ed]