Lifetime’s Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B drops images!

September 18, 2014ByTars Tarkas

Lifetime has released some promoshots for their original film Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B. This is the controversial biopic about an African-American singer on Lifetime– Okay, I should be more specific. This is one of the controversial biopics about an African-American singers on Lifetime, and has gone through some cast changes and controversies. You might recall that Zendaya was originally cast, and then the internet had a collective fit because she was too light-skinned to be Aaliyah, including people who though Zendaya was Asian or something. So she bailed (for “creative” reasons, not because of the huge backlash! 😉 ) and was replaced by Alexandra Shipp. Who actually looks more like Aaliyah, though I’ve not heard her sing, unlike Zendaya.

The controversy is the family is none too happy and, including threatening to sue if any of Aaliyah’s songs are used. If they even have the rights to do that, I do not know, but I’m sure the lawyers went all over everything and there will be a lawsuit regardless. They will go over her underage marriage to pedophile pee-enthusiast R. Kelly, which is just exploitative enough by itself to make this worth watching. If Lifetime goes for broke and goes crazy, this this will rule. If they sit on the fence and stay in boring town, it will be a waste of time for everyone. I’m hoping for crazy, do not disappoint me, Lifetime!

Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B stars Alexandra Shipp, Rachael Crawford, Sterling Jarvis, A.J. Saudin, Lyriq Ben, Anthony Grant, Izaak Smith, Elise Neal, Chattrisse Dolabaille

Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B premieres November 15 on Lifetime!

Lifetime’s Original Movie, “Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B,” starring Alexandra Shipp (“House of Anubis”) as the beloved actress and music sensation, is set to premiere Saturday, November 15, at 8pm ET/PT. The two-hour movie event is executive produced by Howard Braunstein, Debra Martin Chase and Wendy Williams, and based on the bestseller “Aaliyah: More Than a Woman” by former Time Magazine music editor Christopher John Farley (Game World).

Before Beyoncé and before Rihanna, self-proclaimed “street but sweet” Aaliyah was poised to become a global icon with top-selling albums, a hot movie career and an adoring fan base. The film follows the beautiful and talented performer’s inspirational journey, from her debut on “Star Search” at the age of ten to the challenges she faced during her rise to become the Princess of R&B. On August 25, 2001, at the height of her popularity, her life was tragically cut short when a plane carrying the singer and some of her video crew crashed after takeoff from a Bahamian runway. Although just 22-years-old at the time of her death, Aaliyah continues to lead a legacy as Billboard’s tenth most famous R&B artist of the past 25 years and one of the recording industry’s most successful artists in history.

Multi-talented actress and singer/songwriter Alexandra Shipp starred as KT Rush in the Nickelodeon series “House of Anubis.” Additional credits include the upcoming film “Drumline 2: A New Beat,” “ Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” “Ray Donovan,” “Victorious,” “Switched at Birth” and “Awkward.” Shipp is currently filming Universal Pictures’ “Straight Outta Compton.”

“Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B” also stars Rachael Crawford (“The Man”) and Sterling Jarvis (“The Sentinel”) as Aaliyah’s parents Diane and Mike Haughton; A.J. Saudin (“Degrassi,” “The Next Generation”) as Aaliyah’s brother Rashad Haughton; and Lyriq Bent (“Saw IV”) as her uncle and music manager Barry Hankerson. The film also stars Anthony Grant as Damon Dash, Izaak Smith (“Mirror, Mirror”) as Timbaland, Elise Neal (“The Soul Man”) as Gladys Knight and Chattrisse Dolabaille (“Home Away”) as Missy Elliot. “Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B” is produced by Aaliyah Productions, Inc. Howard Braunstein (“The Informant!”) Debra Martin Chase (“The Princess Diaries,” “Sparkle”) and Wendy Williams (“Wendy Williams Show”) serve as executive producers. Steve Solomos serves as producer. Bradley Walsh (“Turn the Beat Around”) directs from a script written by Michael Elliot (“Brown Sugar”).

via Lifteime

InMovie News

Aubrey Plaza is voicing Grumpy Cat on Lifetime

September 18, 2014ByTars Tarkas

Please free me from my exploitative owner!

What will undoubtedly be the worst cat-themed Christmas movie of the season now has an official celebrity voice for said cat, in that Lifetime’s Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever has signed on internet meme movie veteran Aubrey Plaza as the voice of Grumpy Cat. Perhaps she’s planning to get her Bill Murray on and get the talking cat film out of the way as soon as possible!

The cable network said the movie, which (vp original movies Arturo) Interian describes as “a little Home Alone and a little Die Hard,” would also feature cameos from other famous Internet memes.

No word still on which deformed internet cats being exploited by their owners for financial gain will also costar. Nor what obnoxious internet personalities will appear. Basically, this movie will turn the audience grumpy and just become hot garbage. But I strive to be objective until it airs, then I can hate it all I want!

Shockingly, Aubrey Plaza wasn’t the first choice for Grumpy Cat. Originally they wanted Jane Lynch for the role, and she was going to do it, but now they’re blaming her winning an Emmy for her turning it down. Sure. Whatever. Or maybe she didn’t need to collect a modest paycheck thanks to all that Glee bank and she was never really attached.

It’s not a wonderful life for Grumpy Cat, the Internet meme sensation with nearly six million Facebook friends! The infamous kitty, with the naturally, but endearing sad looking facial expression, will star in her very own live-action Christmas movie, “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,” premiering November 29 at 8/7c.

In “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,” Grumpy Cat is a lonely cat living in a mall pet shop. Because she always gets passed over and never gets chosen by customers, this kitty develops a sour outlook on life until…one day during the holidays, a very special 12-year-old girl named Chyrstal enters the pet store and falls in love with Grumpy Cat. A unique friendship is formed between the two when Chyrstal finds she is the only person who can hear this unique feline talk. In the middle of the holiday rush, Grumpy reluctantly thwarts the kidnapping of an expensive exotic dog she can’t stand and rescues Chyrstal after the mall closes on Christmas Eve. Will Grumpy Cat learn the true meaning of Christmas, or will it be in Grumpy’s words, “Worst. Christmas. Ever?”

In the last year and a half, Grumpy Cat, whose real name is Tardar Sauce, has arguably become the most famous cat of all time. The adorable Internet celebrity was named the most influential cat by MSNBC, most important cat by Mashable and Buzzfeed, and has appeared in news and television shows around the world. She is the author of A Grumpy Book, currently in print in 14 languages, and has a second book coming out this August. Grumpy Cat has numerous merchandising deals and is Friskies official ‘Spokescat.’

Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever airs November 29 on Lifetime.

InMovie News

Stephen King’s Big Driver rides on to Lifetime!

September 8, 2014ByTars Tarkas

Big Driver sounds like a character name from Austin Powers

Lifetime isn’t just adapting trashy biopics and deformed cats for their network, they’ve put up a solid array of literature, some of which make up their strongest cinema entries. Their first Stephen King adaptation will be Big Driver, which is a rape and revenge tale with the King flavor. Big Driver stars Maria Bello, which by itself means it will be good. There is also the bonus talent of Olympia Dukakis and Joan Jett, as well as Ann Dowd and Will Harris. This is an amazingly talented cast. The only video so far is some dark scenes of roads set to spooky music, so I can’t get a sense of the tone, except spooky.

Big Driver is directed by Mikael Salomon, who directed the Lifetime trash classic Drew Peterson: Untouchable, and adapted by Lifetime regular Richard Christian Matheson.

Big Driver premieres October 18th on Lifetime!

From a story by Stephen King, “Big Driver” marks the first collaboration between Lifetime and King. This dark story of a young novelist hell-bent on revenge after falling victim to a brutal crime stars Golden Globe nominee Maria Bello (“A History of Violence,” “McFarland”), Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis (“Sex & Violence,” “Steel Magnolias”), Grammy nominee Joan Jett, film and television veteran Ann Dowd (“The Leftovers,” “Masters of Sex”) and Will Harris (“NCIS,” “Sky High”).

In “Big Driver,” Tess Thorne (Bello), a famous and revered mystery and thriller writer, faces a long drive home following a book-signing engagement. But while driving on a lonely stretch of New England road, her tire blows out, leaving her stranded. Relieved when another driver stops and offers assistance, Tess quickly discovers her savior is actually her assailant, a serial killer who repeatedly assaults her. Left for dead in a drainage pipe to rot with the bodies of his other victims, Tess escapes and makes her way safely home. With her fragile mind beginning to unravel, she is determined to find her rapist and seek revenge, as payback is the only thing holding her together.

Best-selling author Stephen King has penned more than 50 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of which have been adapted into feature films, including Frank Darabont’s Academy Award-nominated “The Shawshank Redemption” with Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins; the Stanley Kubrick classic, “The Shining,” with Jack Nicholson; and “Stand by Me,” directed by Rob Reiner starring River Phoenix, Kiefer Sutherland, Jerry O’Connell, Corey Feldman and Wil Wheaton. Other works based on his stories include the television series “Under the Dome,” as well as numerous top-selling comic books, including “The Stand and The Dark Tower” series. His novels have sold more than 350 million copies worldwide and have received a multitude of awards, including The Bram Stoker Award, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, National Book Award, National Magazine Award and World Fantasy Award.

Produced by Ostar Productions, “Big Driver” is executive produced by Bill Haber (“The Trip to Bountiful”) and Jeffrey Hayes (“A Day Late and A Dollar Short”). The screenplay adaptation was written by Richard Christian Matheson (“Masters of Horror,” “Happy Face Killer”) and is directed by Mikael Salomon (“Drew Peterson: Untouchable”). A+E Networks handles international sales for “Big Driver.”

via Lifetime

InMovie News

Deliverance Creek delivers revenge on Lifetime!

September 3, 2014ByTars Tarkas

1000% more butter churning than Dawson’s Creek!

Lifetime continues to throw out the event programming with Deliverance Creek, a Civil War revenge drama produced by Nicholas Sparks of The Notebook fame. Deliverance Creek is getting a bigger than usual push campaign, having a trailer and pictures up even before things like the Unauthorized Saved by the Bell movie or PopFan! So they either have a lot of confidence in this movie, or there is some contractual thing requiring bigger promotional material. Whatever the reason, I like having that stuff out already, because it makes it easier to write about the film. The production values seem high and it could be a cool outlaw movie about a good person pushed too far. It sounds like one of those older Westerns that are always focused on evil landowners trying to drive good people away and hiring thugs until a lawman/mercenary arrives and shoots them all. So if it is that, this will rule.

Best-selling author Nicholas Sparks (“The Notebook,” “A Walk to Remember,” “Safe Haven”) makes his television debut as executive producer of the two-hour programming event “Deliverance Creek.” “Deliverance Creek” is a revenge drama centering on a widow and mother of three who is determined to protect her family and land at any cost during the Civil War.

Two years into the Civil War, Belle Gatlin Barlowe (Lauren Ambrose) faces uncertainty in the life before her as she attempts to defend her family’s land by any means necessary. When the corrupt bank that runs their town pushes Belle into becoming an outlaw, the stakes become personal, setting off a chain of events that force her to question whether it’s better to be good or to survive.

Deliverance Creek stars Lauren Ambrose, Wes Ramsey, Yaani King, Caitlin Custer, Christopher Backus, Riley Smith, Katherine Willis, and Christopher Baker. It’s directed by Jon Amiel (he did Entrapment and The Core!) and written by Melissa Carter (a couple of Lifetime-related shows including The Lottery)

Deliverance Creek premiered September 13 on Lifetime!

via Lifetime

InMovie News

With The Brittany Murphy Story, Lifetime breaks out the tin foil!

August 19, 2014ByTars Tarkas

The Brittany Murphy Story is Lifetime’s latest biopic of a dead celebrity who died tragically young, and thankfully for them, wasn’t a singer so there won’t be a court battle about music rights! But I do have one question about the synopsis…

Brittany Murphy was only 32 years old when she died…but how? Drugs? Poison? As tabloid reporters pounce on her home, Brittany’s husband Simon Monjack and her mother Sharon blame Hollywood for Brittany’s death. How did this shining star from New Jersey who soared to instant fame in Clueless end up marrying a man who was known for swindling women and spiral into a life of anti-depressants? This is the true story of how Brittany’s Hollywood dream turned into a nightmare.

Poison? Are they going to insinuate that Brittany Murphy was murdered? Because I remember that conspiracy theory, and if it makes it to Lifetime it will make this film completely insane! They already look to be turning Simon Monjack into a villain, and if he becomes a mad poisoner, this will be hilarious and possibly lawsuit-inducing. So I hope it’s crazy, as that makes things so much more entertaining.

Starring Amanda Fuller as Brittany Murphy, Sherilyn Fenn as Sharon Murphy, Eric Petersen as Simon Monjack, Adam Hagenbuch as Ashton Kutcher, and Amy Davidson as someone that the imdb didn’t bother to list.

That’s right, someone is playing Ashton Kutcher! On Lifetime!

The Brittany Murphy Story is directed by Joe Menendez (3 Holiday Tails, the sequel to A Golden Christmas). Writers Peter Hunziker and Cynthia Riddle both worked on the cartoon series RoboCop: Alpha Commando!

The Brittany Murphy Story airs September 6th on Lifetime!

via Lifetime

InMovie Reviews, Ugly

The Choking Game (Review)

August 11, 2014ByTars Tarkas

The Choking Game

2014
Teleplay by Jen Klein
Based on the book Choke by Diana Lopez
Directed by Lane Shefter Bishop

Just massaging my neck really really really tightly!

Lifetime is the fertile crescent of exploitation drama, and The Choking Game is yet another entry into the canon. Once again, a dangerous teen fad threatens the lives of everyone and everything, particularly our main character Taryn. The fad is teens choking themselves, by which they get a brief high when fresh oxygen rushes into their brains. This method has been around for ages, I remember people talking about it when I was in grade school back in the 14th century. But thanks to the power of people writing books about it, and then promoting their books by showing up on news program scare segments, things have taken a life of their own. Unlike things like rainbow parties, people actually do choke themselves, and like much of what teenagers do, it is pretty darn stupid.

The choking game is presented by temptress Nina as the ultimate way to be in control, because if you are in control of your breathing, you are in control of your life. Plus the oxygen high boost gives you lots of self-confidence without the problems that drugs and alcohol bring to the table. It’s basically the perfect way to get high, provided you don’t do it over concrete and fall down and hit your head like a scrub. The way the choking and trust aspects are handled in the film, you could subscribe all sorts of sexual subtext to it, making Taryn and Nina’s secret also a lesbian relationship. Perhaps an alternate title should have been Blue is the Chokest Color

A scene from The Craft is breaking out here!

The biggest problem with The Choking Game is it takes a while to get going. We spend a lot of time with Taryn listening to her complain about her life before we get to the choking. When it does get going, it gets pretty fun, even if it is heavy handed (with multiple characters giving multiple speeches about how Taryn changed, most notably Ryder at the party). The Choking Game handles social media well, showing it’s presence with some popups, but not having it be the focus, just an aspect of life.

Forget those facts and things, we’re here for the Lifetime trainwreck spectacle, so let’s bring on the life ruining! It’s choking time! (SPOILERS below for those of you who worry about being spoiled about a Lifetime choking movie!)

At least the choking game is more fun than Scrabble!

	Taryn (Freya Tingley) – Taryn is a typical high school senior dealing with the pressure of being a high school senior with not a lot of bad things happening in her life, thus it’s the worst life ever! Taryn doesn’t have anything in her life figured out, and doesn’t even know what she wants to do after school. She does brag that she’s totally been to third base, for real. She enthusiastically embraces choking and the choking lifestyle, even as it destroys her life. For some reason she plays Tauren when playing World of Warcraft.
	Nina (Alex Steele) – Nina is the mysterious new girl with a secret, the secret being she loves to choke herself 24/7. She trashes high school culture in a way that throws Taryn for a loop, but makes her instantly attracted to her. It’s all choking, all the time with Nina, and soon Taryn, as Nina introduces her to a whole new world. Nina’s mom is single and on a date with a different guy each night, leaving only frozen dinners and no attention.
	Elena (Beverly Ndukwu) – Taryn’s best friend who also has plans for Taryn to be her roommate in college. Advice: never be roommates with your best friend. Elena begins to freak out when Taryn begins spending all her time with Nina and not Elena.
	Heidi (Peri Gilpin) – Taryn’s over-bearing mother who is over-bearing out of concern and not because she’s manipulative or anything. Heidi raised Taryn as a single mother and feels guilt over Taryn being a latchkey kid for so long. I did appreciate how they made her more three-dimensional than usual. Is married to Will (Ray Galletti), who is constantly trying to get her to not be so hard on Taryn.
	Ryder (Mitch Ainley) – The guy Taryn has been crushing on forever, now newly single and interested in Taryn, though neither one bothers to ask the other out. You know Taryn and Ryder are made for each other, because they both have useless Y’s in their names!
	Courtney (Ferron Guerreiro) – Courtney is the coolest girl in school, and she is always seen with a pack of girls following her as she snarks on the GPs (the General Population, aka the not-cool kids). Courtney is also way into choking herself because she really has low self-esteem.

Look, play the choking game all you want, but make sure you win, dammit!

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