The Brit List 2009

Similar to The Black List here in the U.S., The Brit List is a yearly log of the best screenplays yet to be produced from the UK and Ireland according to industry insiders. The Men Who Stare At Goats won the honor in 2007 and is almost ready to be released (trailer here). Last year’s winner Nowhere Boy written by Matt Greenhalgh is closing this year’s London Film Festival.

Good Luck Anthony Belcher written by George Kay topped this year’s list and is described as a “fantasy comedy” which will developed into a star vehicle for James Corden. The full list courtesy of Screen Daily is after the jump.

Trailer: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Domestic)

It has been nearly two months since we first got the international trailer for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but now, thanks to Yahoo!, we now have a domestic trailer for the film. If I had to make complaints, it would be that the run-time is still pretty short for a theatrical trailer (it only runs 1:43), and it doesn’t include anything truly different from the international edition (despite being ten seconds longer).

Problems aside, the film still looks incredible and Christmas Day cannot come soon enough, even if it is in limited release. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Watch It! (SPECIAL EDITION) Read It!: On Comedy’s Flying Trapeze

For the past 40 (yes, 40) years, Monty Python has been making us laugh. Watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life, or Flying Circus it is hard to imagine anyone doing anything less than rolling on the floor in a fit of giggles.

To celebrate the anniversary of the British comedy troupe, Charles McGrath of the New York Times has written an article looking back on the groups history and where they are now (did you know that Michael Palin makes travel documentaries now?) The article is long but worth the read for anyone who has even chuckled at Python’s antics. Hit the jump for the link.

Watch It!: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

I promised you two, now here you go.

A few weeks ago, as our first Retro Review, I exclaimed my love of the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a film that takes place through the eyes of my favorite writer, Hunter S. Thompson. Now, thanks to the wonderful people over at Hulu, you can either watch it for the first time or enjoy it again.

The synopsis for the film, as well as a link to the movie, after the jump.

Retro Review: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

In celebration of the premiere of Terry Gilliam’s trailer for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, I’ve dug through my archives for my review of one of my favorite former-Gilliam works: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro.

—

Before his death in 2005, Hunter S. Thompson, famous as the self-described “gonzo” journalist of the 1960s and 1970s, made a very strange request regarding how he wanted to be cremated. Thompson, a fan of large explosions, asked that his ashes be mixed with fireworks and launched into the sky from a 150-foot tower erected at his home in Woody Creek. After his death, the man who orchestrated the final sendoff was Johnny Depp, the actor who portrayed Thompson in the 1998 film adaptation of what many consider to be Thompson’s finest literary work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Trailer: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (International)

(Now THIS would make a cool buddy movie)

Terry Gilliam’s latest work, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, now has an international trailer and it is nothing short of brilliant. I have always been a fan of Gilliam’s work, from Brazil to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to Twelve Monkeys to Monty Python, etc., and this trailer does not disappoint. Obviously, much of the buzz around this film, just like The Dark Knight and this years Academy Awards ceremony, will be due to Heath Ledger’s sudden death last January and Gilliam’s use of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to fill in the spots. Whether the changes will work or not will be something to discuss when the film comes out, but for now, the international trailer is after the jump (and in HD!)

P.S. This is actually a U.K. trailer for the film, so no dubbing and no subtitles, just brilliant visuals that will make Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland piss its pants.