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  • Weekend Box Office: Oct. 31-Nov. 2

    Shelby’s Note: Sorry for the delay this week on the Box Office update!

    This weekend was pretty slow, with High School Musical 3, yet ANOTHER Disney film leads the Weekend Box Office. Will it EVER end? Yeah, you’re right; it won’t! =(

    Also a nice figure to see is the comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, which seems to be a great movie but has been plagued with its public image all because of its name. Let that be a lesson to all film makers out there: Your movie’s name is VERY important, not only for viewers but for ADVERTISEMENTS!

    Saw V still hangs on, and The Haunting of Molly Hartley scrapes by with 5th place. Funny to note that there were very few horror movies out on Halloween. Figure that…

    Well, until next week!

    Weekend Top 5:

    Statistics are provided by Box Office Mojo

    Weekend Box Office: Oct. 31 to Nov. 2
    Weekend Box Office: Oct. 31 to Nov. 2

  • Michael Crichton, Age 66, Deceased

    michael-crichton

    Wow. Another enormous loss for the entire media world came today after news of famous Science Fiction author Michael Crichton had passed away at the age of 66 in Los Angles.

    Crichton was a phenomenal author, and is best known for writing Jurassic Park, a worldwide best-seller and one of the most grossing movies in recent time. Also in his resume are: creating the hit TV series ER and writing The Andromeda Strain, which is an excellent book and movie in its own right.

    He passed away on November 5, 2008 after a private battle with cancer. Family and friends told reporters that he was happy and went peacefully. Here’s to hoping he lives the sci-fi world he always shared with us in the afterlife! =)

    See the article

    I have yet to feature Jurassic Park or The Andromeda Strain in reviews, but I have added them to the big list of reviews-to-be-made!

  • Vote today!

    Today is a very special and very important day for all US citizens and really, the entire world. Today we have to choose a new President, the most powerful leader in the world.

    Voting is the foundation of democracy and is a basic US right. Please exercise your right to vote – it takes only a few minutes if you don’t wait till the last second!

  • Fox won’t renew ‘King of the Hill’

    king-of-the-hill

    After 13 seasons, long time comedy ‘King of the Hill’. written by Greg Daniels and Mike Judge, will not air another season for FOX.

    This is very disappointing to me. I have been a fan for the series for almost 5 years now, and I watch it whenever it’s on. It just goes to show how much power the production company has – to axe a popular comedy with hardly any hint of doing so beforehand made this news shocking to many. Looks to me like Fox wants to get the old shows out of the way so some new (and very likely to fail) shows can take their places.

    But Greg Daniels and Mike Judge are working on bigger and better things, and had been for some time now. Daniels works with The Office, which is a great comedy and a VERY popular show at this time. Judge is also working on a new animated series of his own, The Goode Family, and will premiere on ABC.

    There have been 13 final episodes purchased by Fox, and they will be shown in the 2009-2010 season.

    Perhaps Fox will reconsider the decision, but that’s really unlikely. but I guess we’ll have to just wait and see.

  • Spider-Man 4 Lands Brilliant Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer

    Spider-Man 4 is more reality than myth with the latest addition to the production staff. Many think that the entire series was derailed by a ‘weak’ third film. I personally enjoyed the third, but my favorite Spider-Man was the second with Doc Ock.

    Hopefully this new writer and the same star cast from the previous three movies will be enough to make Spider-Man 4 a hit.

    Lindsay-Abaire, who won a Pulitzer in 2007 for his drama “Rabbit Hole,” is in final negotiations to write “Spider-Man 4” for Columbia.
    Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are back as director and star, respectively, as are series producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad. Kirsten Dunst also is expected to return for the latest movie featuring the Marvel Comics

    read more | digg story

  • Shyamalan receives a revolutionary studio deal

    A favorite producer/director of mine, M. Night Shyamalan, received a deal from Media Rights Capital inc in late July. The deal is like no other made before in Hollywood: Shyamalan will get to keep his name on all the films produced with the studio.

    The terms of the agreement are like this:

    • There are three films to be made
    • The films will be released at the rate of one per year
    • The films will be a collaborative work between Shyamalan and MRC
    • The films will be part of a series known as The Night Chronicles
    • Shyamalan will keep a large portion of the rights of his productions

    This is almost unheard of from today’s big name producers, who usually take the lion’s share of the profits and do a pretty poor job of distributing the wealth. If this agreement ends up a big success (which really depends on the quality of Shyamalan’s work) then this could lead the way for new producers to enter the big movie industry.

    Shyamalan is known for several popular and very unique movies, such as The Sixth Sense, Signs, and The Village. His recent works have not been as successful as The Sixth Sense, but MRC (and I) still think there is great potential for another breakout hit. Just wait and see! =)

    Shyamalan’s first film of the deal will be Devil, slated for release in 2009. The project was literally announced just days ago, so details are scarce. I will post some more links and news as I find it.

    If the smaller producers come into power, then the actors, screenwriters, directors, and other supporting members will receive more credit and payment for their hard work. Another great benefit is that we will start to see the variety that fills the Independent Film world enter the Featured Film world. A change is always good when it comes to scripts in the video industry.

    Personally, that’s what Omega Squid Studios stands for; Treating  everyone who helps out with the respect, credit, and pay they deserve. Kudos to MRC, and congratulations to M. Night Shyamalan!

    See the original article

  • The $180 Dollar Documentary

    A strapped-for-cash director wants to create a documentary about the infamous Nigerian email scams and the dangers they face. He is successful in completing the production, winning a film festival, and receiving national attention! What was the budget? $180!

    Sounds pretty sweet to me (and seems to be a lot like what Patrick and I are currently doing to finish projects…)

    Find out how the movie was made for less than a car payment!

    read more | digg story

  • SquidFlicks Turns 1!

    It has been a year today since SquidFlicks was opened to the public masses of the Internet, and it has been one crazy year for the site! As the owner of the site, I like to measure all sorts of information on the popularity and rankings of the site. One such ranking is the Alexa rank. On this accurate ranking system, SquidFlicks has grown from being the 12,111,156,345th most popular site on the Internet to the 559,247th and counting!
    See for yourself!

    This amazing growth is thanks to our fans and visitors who are always suggesting new posts and reviews. This next year will see more great news and activities, here’s some of the plans I have for the site this year:

    • Weekly podcast
    • Video Movie Reviews
    • The SquidFlicks Real Reel show
    • Director Interviews
    • More Marathons
    • A video section
    • Merchandise!
    • And much. much more!

    There is in fact a special introductory showing of SquidFlicks Real Reel tonight. The location of the show is on USTREAM.TV. Check out the channel page for details and viewing options.
    Well, it seems that the server is down currently…check back soon to visit the channel!
    The site is back up – see the channel!

    I never thought that my SquidFlicks would grow so fast. The only thing to do now is keep up!

    Thanks for a great first year, and let’s meet here again next year!

    Omega Squid, aka Shelby Jones

  • New SquidFlicks Poll: Halloween 2008

    There is a new poll up for those who pay great attention to detail on the site; the question is quite appropriate. SquidFlicks wants to know what your Halloween plans are! Tell us what you are doing Friday!

    In a post to come later today or tomorrow, I am going to reveal more details of the SquidFlicks birthday bash and the premiere of a new and LIVE SquidFlicks videocast/show!

    Don’t miss out! There is going to be a lot going on during the next couple of days!

    [poll=5]

  • 20 Classic Films Recreated in LEGO

    Here’s a new take on some older movies – using Lego bricks as the actors and set! Some of the movies I wouldn’t consider ‘classics’ by any means, but the comparison between the movie photo and the Lego recreation is pretty sweet.

    Maybe movie sequels should start being done with Legos – they don’t have unions or fight for new contracts every year! =P

    My favorite? Creepshow. Didn’t expect that to be in the 20 movies highlighted! =)

    read more | digg story