Get your gear on because we've got the latest episode of VIP Access when we feature Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's latest blockbuster, THE GAME PLAN on Sunday, November 4th @ 8:30pm (HKT) / 9:30pm (MAL) only on STAR Movies.  Already quite a character with the one-liners and arched eyebrow (retained from his days as a WWF superstar) in hard-core action films like THE RUNDOWN or THE SCORPION KING, this time The Rock ditches the guns, swords and giant arachnid claws and rushes headlong into the even deadlier world of the family comedy--to incredible success.  As Stevie wrote earlier, THE GAME PLAN dominated the US box office for two straight weeks as the undeniable number one movie in the land.

Best of all, we have an exclusive interview with none other than the man himself, The Rock, on his first ever visit to Singapore.  Our intrepid, world-traveling host Dominic Lau, will sit down with the former WWF wrestling superstar and find out who's the bigger man.  I'm guessing it's The Rock.  Perhaps we should give Dom a more manly nickname before he gets to Singapore.  The Tower?  The Bus Shelter?

VIP Access: THE GAME PLAN will also feature even more of Stevie's reports from the Toronto International Film Festival, plus Stevie's coverage of the HEARTBREAK KID junket.

Don't miss THE GAME PLAN when it comes to a theater near you.  If you liked THE PACIFIER, you're going to love this film.  (I loved THE PACIFIER).

In theaters:
 Hong Kong - November
 India - November 30
 Indonesia - November  7
 Malaysia - November 8
 Philippines - November 7
 Singapore-  November 1
 Taiwan - November 9
 Thailand - November 1

If you miss the premiere episode, or just can't get enough of The Rock (or Dom), you can catch VIP ACCESS: THE GAME PLAN at these additional dates/times:
Sun, Nov 04    20:30
Mon, Nov 05    10:20
Mon, Nov 05    18:50
Thu, Nov 08    01:00
Fri, Nov 09    18:10
Sun, Nov 11    17:10
Thu, Nov 15    16:45
Sat, Nov 17    00:30
Sat, Nov 17    18:45
Sun, Nov 18    12:25
Tue, Nov 20    13:30

All times are in HK Time.

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Back in 2004, a novel by the name of The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Jay Fowler was the chick-lit tome of the year. Focusing on a small group of women (and a guy) who discussed the complete works of Jane Austen once a month, these coversations of plot and subtext were surpringly parallel to what was going on in their own lives. Of course, the book became a massive hit and was destined to be translated onto film.

Well at this years Toronto International Film Festival, The Jane Austen Book Club got it's worldwide premiere and lucky for us, we got a chance to talk to the filmmaker and one of the stars of the lively ensemble, Maria Bello.

Let's start off with the trailer just so you get an idea of what the film is about:

After watching the film, I had a few questions about why there aren't that many movies about women for women in Hollywood. I also had read somewhere that director Robin Swicord was having a difficult time convincing studios to allow a highly successful screenwriter (Little Women, Memoirs of a Geisha) be the director of a film. Check out what Robin has to say to me (and my weirdly quiet voice!):

I really liked talking to Robin about filmmaking (can you tell?) and wasn't it cool that Maria Bello is in the Mummy 3 with Jet Li AND Michelle Yeoh?

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The urban dramady Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married beat out a bunch of high profile movies this weekend with an overwhelming $21.5 million dollars, leaving the rest of the new releases in the dust.

Written and directed by Tyler Perry, the film focuses around four couples going through various stages of martial issues, with everything culminating at a weekend getaway where ALL the truths come out. Co-starring Janet Jackson and Grammy Award winner Jill Scott, the film is making Hollywood think twice about allocating African American themed movies to the sidelines.

As for last weeks big winner Game Plan, the comedy continued to make families laugh at #2 with an $11.5 million intake. Which brings us to the big surprises of the weekend where supposed heavy hitters Michael Clayton (starring George Clooney) and We Own The Night (Mark Wahlberg/Joaquin Phoenix) fared mediocre openings, with a 3rd place tie of $11 million (heck, Elizabeth: The Golden Age didn't even break the top 5!). Finally, at #5 was the critically heckled comedy The Heartbreak Kid $7.4 million.    

Hopefully this weekend's new releases will fare better:

30 Days of Night (dir: David Slade) - As if we hadn't hyped this film enough! The movie that reviewers are calling the next generation of the vampire flick is finally released with good buzz all around. Check out a brief press piece above with a history of the vampire and some extra clips of the movie that we didn't show you!

Rendition (dir: Gavin Hood) - The political drama starring Reece Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal did it's world premiere at Toronto Film Festival, and gets a proper theatrical release next weekend. From the way political movies have done in the past few months, I'm not too sure about the box office results of this one.

Things We Lost In The Fire (dir: Susanne Bier) - Hoping that the reviews will lead to award season contention, Oscar winners Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro play scarred individuals who have to bond together when a close mutual relationship dies unexpectantly. Tissues all around!

Keep an eye out for my exclusive interviews with both Halle and Benicio in the coming weeks!

The Comebacks (dir: Tom Brady) - I am the worst judge for this kind of movie, but this is an all out spoof of inspirational sports movies in which an out of luck coach puts together a team of ragtag individuals and leads them to the top of the football championships. This wild card movie of the week might just surprise us all! 

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Though my interview with the cast and director of 30 Days of Night won't be on for a few more weeks, I thought I'd continue my horror themed postings with a brand new clip from this very modern reworking of the vampire genre to whet your appetite!

 

[An inaugural meeting with the vamps.]

[Get in the truck!]

[A closing statement that seems to be the tag line for the film. And yes, it's scarier to watch this on the big screen!]

Now, if you want to see more, yahoo movies has yet another exclusive clip right here.

And if you're totally obsessed with all things 30 Days of Night, then click on to check out the 7 webisode mini-series called "Blood Tails" that creator Steve Niles wrote as a prequel companion piece to the feature! (be wary of language and violence).

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With Halloween right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to show you some upcoming movies that are vying for your screams and dollars.

The Orphanage (El Orfanato)(dir: J.A. Bayona) - When Spain decides that this is the film that they're going to submit for best foreign picture this year, you know that The Orphanage isn't your typical horror film. I saw it at Cannes this year and though I was scared s***less, it's the moving story of a mother (Belen Rueda) trying to find her missing son that left the biggest imprint in my mind. I can't wait for all of you to see this film!

Funny Games (dir: Michael Haneke) - This is going to be an interesting project by acclaimed Austrian director Michael Haneke (Cache, The Piano Teacher). Making his english language debut, Haneke will do an updated version of his own twisted film that put him on the map nearly 10 years ago. But this time around, heavy players Naomi Watt, Tim Roth and Michael Pitt offer up the tension. This is one of those movies that will either be amazing or an experimental mistake (see: Psycho - the remake).  

REC (dir: Jaume Balaquero & Paco Plaza) - THE Spanish horror film that everyone is buzzing about on the net. Check out this trailer (even though it's in Spanish, you'll get a pretty good idea why people are raving about this film) and yes, a prerequisite remake is already in the works for US.

 

The Eye (dir: David Moreau / Xavier Palud) - the French directors of last year's cult horror film Them (Ils) gets to tackle the remake of our very own Pang Brothers now-classic ghost film. Mega hottie Jessica Alba gets the honors as the cornea transplant reciever who discovers the original owner had access to some supernatural visions. From the looks of this trailer, the infamous elevator scene gets an homage! 

Body (dir: Paween Purijitpanya) - Though I've been underwhelmed with Thai horror films in the past, the trailer for Body does show some surprisingly beautiful images from this filmmaker. The movie opens in Thailand this month and I'll be keeping an eye out for reviews in the coming weeks. Maybe this film will prove me wrong... 

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Who'd have thought that a family picture starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson would fend off strong competition and remain the #1 movie in America? Well, due to good word of mouth, the comedy Game Plan did just that as the film picked up another $16.3 million to stay proud in the number one spot.

Surprisingly, the reuniting of Ben Stiller with the Farrelly Brothers (they directed him in the worldwide smash There's Something About Mary back in 1998), didn't even make a dent as The Heartbreak Kid came in at #2 with an underwhelming $14 million.   

According to box office analysts, the reason why this raunchy comedy didn't do as well is the fact that many of their more naughty scenes weren't allowed to be shown on TV, therefore not bringing in the audience that would want to see a movie like this (hm... but yet edgy comedies like Superbad and Knocked Up did well over the summer..)

Rounding out the top 5, The Kingdom came in at #3 with $9.3 million, Resident Evil with $4.3 and the fantasy film The Seeker: The Dark is Rising enters the top 5 at #5 with only $3.7 million.

Next week comes three high profile releases that will definitely bring audiences back in droves: 

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (dir: Shekhar Kapur) - It's been almost 9 years since we first saw Cate Blanchett don the persona of Queen Elizabeth (but she falls into the role with ease). This time around, Elizabeth has to fend off an impending attack of the Spanish while fighting an internal battle of love with a naval captain (played by Clive Owen). Swoon indeed!   

We Own The Night (dir: James Gray) - Joaquin Phoenix and Marc Wahlberg play brothers on opposite sides of the law. But when the Russian mob decides to put a hit on Wahlberg, Joaquin takes it personally and well... all hell breaks loose.

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married (dir: Tyler Perry) - This is the underdog of the lot. Tyler Perry has consistantly made #1 movies telling the stories of struggling African-American women in America. But the rest of Hollywood considers him way too niche for mainstream appreciation. This time around, he's bringing in big guns Janet Jackson and Jill Scott to tell the story of 4 couples struggling with their marriages. If i had to pick my #1 for next week, my money would be on this film!  

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Just look at that face!

Take a peek at what Pixar/Disney has instore for us next summer. Going by the name of Wall-E (aka Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class), this robot was initially built for one thing (see Buy N Large Corporation's promotional video below), but will quickly learn that his destiny is meant for a big adventure. 

If you truly want to find out more about the film, this site released some spoilers of what to expect next year.

From the sounds of it, Wall-E is in for a big intergalactic journey! Check out the just released trailer below. 

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I posted about chatting with the amazing Jodie Foster a few weeks back for her controversial film The Brave One.

The film had it's world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival and though I had mixed feelings about the film itself, I had many questions about the power of Jodie Foster in Hollywood and the concept of 'normal' people embracing murderous vigilantism against crime.

As you'll see from the interview below, Jodie is a really cool smart lady that is not only honest, but can make me a tad flustered (I TOTALLY get all shy by the end!)

A VIP Access exclusive!

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Over the next two weeks, you'll be seeing some post-script entries featuring interviews that I conducted at this years Toronto International Film Festival. Because it takes time for our amazing online team to gather my interviews and cut pieces for you to see here, we're finally able to get these out for you to see.

First up for the TIFF 07 rewind is an exclusive interview with a certain Brad Pitt. It was right after the packed press conference of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (which I couldn't get into) that word got around that Brad had just won the best actor award at the Venice Film Festival.

 

Guess who got to speak to him less than thirty minutes later? I couldn't believe that the timing was so perfect!

So there I was, waiting for Brad to come to the interview room to chat about his surprise win. It's funny to watch a whole team of people get ready for someone like him because a slow wave of walkie talkies announced that 'Brad was in the elevator', 'Brad is coming up' and I think I even heard, 'There's Brad' when he and his bodyguards walked right by us.

The interview turned out to be really cool. Brad was in the best mood (wouldn't you be?) and was also really happy about the win of his Babel co-star Cate Blanchett for her pitch perfect homage of Bob Dylan in the film I'm Not There.

But since I'm also an intrepid reporter, my interview with Brad talked about how much we both loved co-star Casey Affleck's performance in the picture, plus we talked about the issues of 'celebrity' that the bandit Jesse James dealt with in his time.

While we're at it, please excuse the t-shirt that I wore for this interview. I swear it looked really cool in the mirror, but on camera, the flower bud looks like a second head. Ignore it and this interview will be just fine!

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What a crazy packed film week I've had in LA! Not only did I get one of the first sneek peeks of the horror film 30 Days Of Night, but I was one of the first people to check out the upcoming Disney holiday film Enchanted.

Putting a complete modern day spin on the fairy tales that Disney have always been known for, Enchanted tells the story of Princess Giselle (a pitch perfect Amy Adams) banished into the harsh world of New York City by a jealous evil stepmother (Susan Sarandon).

With a heroic prince determined to save her (James Marsden, Hairspray, X-Men) and a single father who unwillingly befriends her (Patrick Dempsey, aka McDreamy), Princess Giselle finds out pretty quickly that her Disney ways have no place in the real world... or does it?

Who'd of thought that a studio that single-handedly created the fairy tale genre would take a surprisingly risky chance at poking fun at themselves? It's a bold, great move if you ask me.

Check out the funny trailer below

Enchanted (dir: Kevin Lima)

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The kid-friendly Game Plan starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson rammed it's way into the #1 spot with a surprising $22.7 million opening.

The general expectation for the film was middle to low, so the fact that this broad comedy about a superstar sportman who inherits an opinionated daughter he never knew he had, doing so well is a nice surprise for parent company Disney.

Ironically, the movie that everyone thought would kill at the box office, came in at #2 with only $17.7 million. The Kingdom, starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, drove audiences away with it's tough visual approach about a group of FBI agents trying to investigate a terrorist attack against Americans in Saudi Arabia.

Rounding out the top 5 include last week's #1 film Resident Evil: Extinction (dropping a whopping 66% from last weeks attendance to $8 million), Good Luck Chuck ($6.3 million) and 3:10 to Yuma ($4.2 million).

The Heartbreak Kid (dir: The Farrelly Brothers) - An all out raunchy remake of the Neil Simon 1972 movie of the same name. Ben Stiller reunites with his There's Something About Mary directors and introduces the world to his crazy funny co-star Malin Akerman (I can't wait for you to see my interview with the cast and director!) 

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