The Morning Read (3.26.09) 'Wild Things' trailer and lost Kubrick

Good morning, folks.  I've been thinking a lot about The Morning Read in the last few weeks.  It's easily the thing that's gotten the most feedback since I started here at HitFix, and I know people are checking for it daily, and I'm actually really happy with the format.  I just know that on some days, it can take a few hours to put together, and the morning becomes the afternoon before I can publish it.  I'd like to make it a little more concise, with the possibility of an Afternoon Read on a very busy day, and then actually emphasize a few stories with articles of their own if they're worthwhile or if a story is breaking.  I think it'll help keep things active here on the blog, and since I'm trying to get better at the "constant content" thing, I think maybe a slightly shorter Morning Read, but with more frequency, might just be essential.

Yesterday's biggest news was the arrival of the trailer for "Where The Wild Things Are," which you can see in high-def over at Apple.com, and it pleases me to see how strong the reactions to the trailer have been so far.  It's absolutely accurate to the look and tone of the movie, so if you like what you've seen so far, that's what you're going to get when the movie is released.  I think it's exciting that so many people seem to understand already just how odd and challenging this film is, and instead of rejecting it, that seems to be what has them interested.

[more after the jump]

Latino Review has started to do video reviews of upcoming screenplays.  The first was for the upcoming "Conan" reboot, and now they've done a report on "A Nightmare On Elm Street," and in doing so, they've answered some of the big questions I had about the film.  Even better, they're good answers.  I like exactly one movie out of the entire "Nightmare" series, the first one.  I hate Stand-Up Comedian Freddy.  I hate when the films get jokey and ridiculous.  What worked for me in the first film was the simple surreal horror of it, the way it felt like a nightmare that spilled into daylight.  When you see little children dressed in Freddy Kruger Halloween costumes, something's gone terribly wrong, and it sounds like this new version will make sure there are no merchandising spin-offs for kids.  In this movie, Freddy is a gardener at a preschool who is accused of molesting the children, and the parents kill him to get revenge.  The script allegedly raises the question of whether Freddy was innocent or not, with the possibility existing that the kids were lying to cover up real abuse by their parents, the same parents who lynched Freddy.  Whichever way that plays out, you're talking about a horror movie built on the idea of abused children, and that automatically makes this something darker than I thought they'd have the stomach to do.  Good.  It should be dark.  It's "Nightmare on Elm Street."  The less Freddy talks, the better.

Roger Ebert thinks "Withnail & I" is a Great Movie.  Roger Ebert is correct.

Isn't every day better with a new Stanley Kubrick story?  Or how about a long-lost movie to go with it?

I'm intrigued by the notion of Mark Millar's "American Jesus," and doubly intrigued to see that Matthew Vaughn is already onboard to develop the feature film version.  Could that be the new script that Jane Goldman's been Tweeting about recently?  If so, there's a 101 page draft that got birthed yesterday.  Certainly people have dealt with the idea of Christ being reborn in fiction before, but I'm guessing Millar and Vaughn will have their own particular sensibility in how they handle the potentially-explosive material.  We'll have more on "Kick-Ass," the current Vaughn/Goldman/Millar collaboration, here this weekend, so keep an eye open for that.

I love the main poster featured in this /film update on Spanish-language posters for the new "Star Trek."  God, I hope they use that one in the U.S.  It's a totally different image than I expected on any "Star Trek" poster, and a striking one.

A "Chuck the Truck" spin-off film?  Yes, please.

Great piece by Tim League talking about why the Alamo chose the 4K digital projectors that they did as they gear up for the 3D release of "Monsters Vs. Aliens" this weekend and, more importantly, future titles that require the projectors.  Projects like, ohhhhh, James Cameron's "Avatar."

Which brings us to our final link today, a look back at the original "Terminator" by James Cameron.  It may be short and sweet, but I still think it's one of the best low-budget action films ever made, and any excuse to get him talking about it is a good thing.

The Morning Read appears here every day, Monday through Friday.  Except when it doesn't.

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