cinema HYPE

Questions by: Joanna Grillo


Film critic Robert Cashill took time out of his busy schedule of writing, blogging and stay at home dad-ing to talk with cinemaHYPE about what’s going on in the film industry today. Cashill’s resume includes editor at both Stagebill and Lighting Dimensions magazines as well as success as a freelance writer. Cashill’s blog has even been picked up by aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes. Born in Randolph, N.J Cashill attended North Western University and lived in Hong Kong for some time. Cashill now resides in New York City with his family.

Joanna Grillo: On your blog you have some strong feelings about 3D movies and how they are ripping off movie goers. Do you think this is just movies as the Jetsons intended or passing fad to hike up prices?

Robert Cashill: When I was a kid 3D was gone, it came back in the early 80’s with lots of good movies. I loved it, I don’t mind putting on the glasses but I think it’s a case of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. The technology is the same in all of these movies so you don’t need to pay the extra three dollars or whatever to rent these glasses every time. You can just bring glasses from a movie you already saw. How to Train Your Dragon’s numbers were down and I think that’s because parents are getting fed up with paying what in the city comes out to nearly sixteen bucks a person to take their kids to the movies. Many of the 3D movies out there aren’t filmed for 3D but converted later so it’s just a few things popping at you here and there, something like Avatar that was made for 3D form the beginning to me is worth it. They aren’t giving much bang for your buck. It just seems like the movie industry taking advantage of you, but really, I do love 3D movies.

JG: With movies like the hangover and UP! getting more and more critical success do you think the citizen cane fans of the world are coming off their high horses to have some fun finally?

RC: Among critics reviews are being supportive of movies like that now. Hot Tub Time machine for example, you need to be in on the joke and it seemed like a lot of the critics don’t get the joke there. If it is smart there’s always critics who support the seemingly less highbrow. I don’t think they are as universally condemned as before. It’s something you need to take case by case, the hangover was a really well done comedy and ended up with golden globe nominations. There is defiantly a line in the sand for what’s a Hot Tub Time Machine and what’s a Hangover but I’m not sure where that line is.

JG: I read your post about Tim Burton’s Alice in wonderland, seems like you’re not a huge fan of the box office names he went with. What are your thoughts on directors who partner with the same actors, like Burton-Depp, Apatow- Rudd, Scorsese –DiCaprio.

RC: I think it works within reason. DiCaprio and Scorsese work very well together. I didn’t think Gangs of New York worked but by the time they got to The Aviator I found Leo a very credible Howard Hughes. Shutter Island worked really well. It’s different then when De Niro and Scorsese paired up in the 70’, 80’s and even 90’s. It was explosive; they were both new on the scene. I like film makers to switch it up, but they have been successful. I like Johnny Depp in the horror-fantasy type films Burton puts him in. I wanted different actors for Sweeny Todd, it seemed like the leads couldn’t express themselves vocally very well. Helena Bonham Carter was less comfortable in Burton’s onscreen world then Depp in my opinion.Comedians work well like this. I saw Paul Rudd on the New York stage when he was starting out and expected him to go more serious but he took a turn and does it well. When those actors are used in the right pockets it works.

JG: Having done both, would you rather write freelance or on the clock?

RC: I have never been a full time writer. I have been an editor though and as an editor you end up dealing with a lot of bureaucracy. Writing freelance has given me a lot more free time. I am a stay at home dad now to my little girl, so it helps. Freelance doesn’t have a lot of money in it. Its not much of a profit making venture. It’s becoming like a vocation, like the priesthood, you do it because you love it and need to.

JG: I would imagine that the Hollywood movie scene is slightly different then the New York film students but how did living and writing in Asia compare to the American movie scene?

RC: I lived in Asia 20 years ago, multiplex theaters are common now but they weren’t that big then. Hong Kong was big in the 80’s for films then handed it over to China and they picked up the industry again. Korean film is thriving now more than ever before. There is much more crossover now, actors who are pretty established in one place are moving into another, younger actors are also sometimes making names for themselves in foreign countries and then go back to their home countries. There is a lot of cross fertilization going on.

JG: Any predictions for what will be worthwhile summer block buster’s?

RC: 2023 looks good 3D or not, it should be very entertaining. Inception comes out July 16^th, it’s a sifi, action, romance movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, it should be really good.

Questions by: Rae Volinsky

Recently, Brad Miska was able to answer some questions about his work with the popular website Bloody Disgusting and other horror film promotions he has done. Founded in 2002, Bloody Disgusting is a top horror movie website, getting around 1 million visitors a month. Brad Miska, under the name Mr. Disgusting, is the Editor in Chief and creator of Bloody Disgusting.

Q: How did you come around to starting Bloody Disgusting? Did you ever imagine it being as big as it is today?

A: We started the website out of the love for the genre and for experience. My friend/business partner wanted to learn web design and asked if I wanted run a horror site that he built. I loved the idea and quickly it was off the ground. He continued to make it better while I continued to deliver quality content. I saw potential after a few months and eventually it took off. But it's all for the lover of the genre, not for the mighty dollar like so many sites today.

Q: What would you say is your favorite thing about working at Bloody Disgusting?

A: I get to talk about horror 24/7 (it can get tiring sometimes, LOL). I get to see movies early and meet a lot of cool people. Although, both of these can have their downsides.

Q: So you get to go to a lot of awesome places and meet a lot of people. Do you ever get star-struck?

A: I used to go on a lot of set visits and get off-the-wall excited, but I'm a bit jaded now. I hate traveling because I need to be updating the site constantly; I literally work 24/7. I used to meet random people like Rob Zombie and get incredibly excited, but after awhile you realize they're just people like you and me - in fact, some of them just plain disappoint you with their manners and attitude.

Q: I saw that you were the Promotions Manager for the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. What exactly did you get to do for the festival?

A: I helped program horror films and read a bunch of the scripts in competition. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. We really delivered some incredible films that year.

Q: How do you feel about social media being a big role in the publicity of movies today?

A: I personally hate it because it means more work for us. I mean, what the heck does a studio need a designated Twitter account for a movie for? So you can learn immediately that a website posted new pictures?

Q: If you had to put your finger on it, what would be your favorite horror film? What about your favorite in any other genre?

A: Aliens, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, Terminator, Predator, In the Mouth of Madness, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Back to the Future, Jaws, Metropolis, Bloodsport and many, many more.

To read more about Brad Miska, go to his blog or MySpace page.

By: Joanna Grillo

I must admit, I’m no “Twi-heart” and I have no affiliations regarding team Edward or Jacob but I can respect the money making machine that is Twilight . So it only make sense that when Summit , the same people who brought you the Twilight saga made Remember Me they would shove Twilight down your throat like nobody’s business.

Teenage girls LOVE Robert Pattinson , teenage girls have expendable incomes and if Titanic taught us anything it’s that teenage girls will pay to watch movies with hot guys over and over. Pattinson’s interview on the today show was one of the few that actually focused on his new film, but they did not leave twilight behind. In fact, he is referred to as the “vampire actor” who stars in Remember Me. Perhaps I’m just being picky about grammar but wouldn’t this suggest he is an ACTUAL vampire who has chosen acting has her career path? But alas, NBC’s poor grammar is not my focus.

Matt Lauer mentioned in the interview that twilight fans are planning on going out to see the movie in support of their favorite heartthrob on what is being billed as Remember Me Saturday . Lauer was quick to point out how anyone involved in the production or marketing of a movie would be thrilled to have Pattinson’s name connected to theirs. If anything the publicity of Remember Me is basic but effective. If you have a good looking male lead with a strong female fan base, exploit that.

The director of the Bourne Identity and Matt Damon team up again in this action packed “Bourne Clone” film. See the trailer here.

The movie takes place in the Green Zone, the international safety zone in Iraq. Matt Damon stars as a soldier who catches onto faulty intelligence and investigates who sends it out and why it is sent out. He makes it his personal mission to find out who is responsible for the negligent information and take them out to save the lives of soldiers.

The film has been heavily advertised for the last month and it is anticipated to do very well in the box office. Buzz for the movie started back in October 2009. The films official site is designed like an interactive map of the Green Zone which you can navigate to see trailers, cast, synopsis and multimedia such as pictures or videos.

The movie is similar to the Bourne series, because the director and lead actor are the same but it is in a much more current and relevant twist. There are many war thrillers but not many avoid political bias while being entertaining, the Green Zone looks to fill that spot.