’21 Jump Street’ is in theaters now, starring Channing Tatum and recent Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill. It is loosely based on the 1987 television series of the same name, which launched the career of Johnny Depp.

The movie has already proven to be a favorite of the critics and strong box office performer, grossing over $100 million worldwide since its release on March 16. Sony recently announced that a sequel is already in the works, and that stars Tatum and Hill are expected to return.

The film’s success can perhaps be attributed to its accessibility to audiences unfamiliar with the 1980s television series. It features a new cast, makes contemporary cultural references (Tatum’s character cites ‘Glee’ as the reason for the new high school hierarchy), and offers only passing remarks about its 1980s predecessor (Nick Offerman’s character notes that in their jobs, “all they do now is recycle stuff from the past and expect us not to notice”).

Michael Bacall’s screenplay keeps things simple and sharp, while directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller keep things moving at a snappy pace, leaving behind all traces of the brand’s past screen life.

Making the transition from television to film has been a tricky business in the last couple of decades. From ‘The X-Files’ to ‘The Simpsons,’ producers have attempted to find the right balance between continuity from the series and accessibility for new viewers. Here is a brief look at how some have fared:

‘The Simpsons Movie’ – Budget: $75 million / Box Office: $527 million.

After several years of talks and delays, the big-screen adaptation of FOX’s long-running animated series was released in summer 2007. ‘The Simpsons Movie’ was a huge box office success and garnered strong critical acclaim, being nominated for a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice and four Annie Awards. Its success has been credited with reinvigorating interest in ‘The Simpsons,’ as the series recently celebrated its 500th episode and was renewed through the end of the 2013-2014 television season.

‘Sex and the City’ – Budget: $65 million / Box Office: $415 million.

HBO’s 2008 adaptation of its hit series proved to be a huge box office success and the biggest ever R-rated opening for a comedy. The film came four years after the series went off the air, and picked up on many of the narrative strands left presumably resolved in the final episode.

As audiences continued to flock, a sequel was greenlit, the budget was increased to $95 million, and it hit theatres in May 2010. However, the sequel grossed a weaker $295 million and was critically maligned, all but ending future big-screen outings for the franchise. Still, The CW network recently ordered a pilot for ‘The Carrie Diaries,’ a prequel series charting the adventures of Carrie Bradshaw through her adolescence, showing the studios’ belief in the brand still having an impact on the small screen.

‘The X-Files’ – Budget: $66 million / Box Office: $189 million.

Right in the middle of the sci-fi thriller’s ninth season run on FOX, came its first film adaptation featuring stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. The film almost tripled its budget, received generally positive reviews, and capitalized on the success of the series’ highest-rated season.

However, it would be ten years, and six years after the series went off the air, before a sequel would be released. ‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ was released in July 2008 with a budget of just $30 million, grossing $68 million. While it still earned back its budget, the numbers were significantly lower than what fans had hoped, and have cast serious doubt on whether a third film will be made.

Then there is the case of the long-awaited ’24′ feature film, based on the FOX series of the same name, which ran for eight successful seasons between 2001 and 2010. The film has been stuck in development for several years, even while the series was in the midst of its run.

In March of this year it looked like the cast and crew would soon be ready to commence production. However, delays in finding a director and scheduling conflicts with star Kiefer Sutherland have meant that the film has been shelved for at least another 12 months. Like ‘The X-Files,’ ’24′ was heavily serialized and had declined in the ratings toward the end of its run. It therefore might struggle to succeed on the big screen as more years go by with it out of production.

Yet with the success of ’21 Jump Street’ more than two decades after the end of its television run, there is hope that the issue of ‘timing’ is just one of many needed for the successful transition of a television series into film.

Case in point is ‘Glee: The 3D Concert Movie,’ which was released last summer and failed to replicate the success of the television series, ultimately grossing just $18 million. TV-to-Film adaptations is a tricky business, but one in which networks and studios are perpetually interested in trying to get right.

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Predictions for tonights Supporting category wins point to Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer. In the first part, we spoke about the difficulty of determining a supporting performance; screen time, age and experience play a tricky part. Here comes the age concerns.

There is well-documented ageism in the Academy; possibly explained through the idea that experience brings award-winning performances, but continuously disproved since acclaimed performers have gone the majority of their careers (if not all) without the Oscars. Gary Oldman, as an example, just broke his circle this year but notable names without nominations include Errol Flynn, Marylin Monroe and Donald Sutherland. However, the trend is more so in the Leading categories than in the Supporting ones, and interestingly enough, also more so for men than women.

To take an example, the youngest winner for Leading Actor was Adrian Brody, age 29, for ‘The Pianist‘. The youngest winner for Supporting Actor was Timothy Hutton, age 20, for ‘Ordinary People’. For actresses it was Marlee Matlin, age 21, winning Leading Actress for ‘Children of a Lesser God’ and Tatum O’Neal, age 10, winning Supporting Actress for ‘Paper Moon’. There is a significant discrepancy between the two categories, and sexes, to suggest that it’s easier to be recognized by the Academy as a young supporting performer than as a lead performer.

When looking strictly at nominations, the age range in the top 10 of youngest actors range from 9 years of age to 27 for the top listed in a leading performance, youngest nominee being Jackie Cooper. But for Supporting Actor, the range is noticeably smaller, with Justin Henry receiving a nomination at age 8 for ‘Kramer vs. Kramer‘ and the age of the top 10 only ranging between 8 and 10. That’s 18 years difference for youngest leading actor and just 2 years for the supporting actor. For the women, it’s nine years difference in the top 10 youngest lead actresses and 4 years for supporting actresses.

The ageism thus applies most to the Leading male category.

It may be a little contrived to break down Academy statistics to determine pattern, but it is obvious that an undefined but recurring set of rules apply for the supporting categories; almost anything goes in terms of screen time and age and in the eyes of a hardcore cynic, the supporting nominations are a motley mix of scene-stealing performances and foundlings which the Academy feel uncomfortable placing anywhere else.

Why was Zach Galifianakis not nominated then?

Maybe some divine truth completely alluded me, but even if I enjoyed myself tremendously watching Kristen Wiig give the bridal party acute diarrhea, I am having a really tough time swallowing that an obscene performance, including pooping in a sink, is Oscar worthy. I see the arguments for it; how refreshing it is to have the Academy come down from their high-brow chair and throw a bone to a fart joke. But does that make you respect the Academy more?

Over and over again, I was coaxed to not miss ‘Bridesmaids‘ because “it’s like The Hangover, but for chicks.” And it truly is; a tale of the battle that friends of the bride — or groom — have to go through. So why was Zach Galifianakis not nominated? Melissa McCarthy is in all her glorious being, basically playing his female counterpart; socially awkward tag-along from the weird side of the family. She mysteriously got the nod, but like Bérénice Bejo, she will not win.

Finally, the nomination of Jonah Hill. His performance in Moneyball was to me flat and bewildered. The whole movie eluded me for meaning and purpose and the nomination of Hill seems to be the annual ‘funny guys does a serious role; shocking! Oscar!’ -case.

The Academy left out an incredible performance by Albert Brooks over Hill? Every ‘The Sitter’ movie he will make for the rest of his life will be “starring oscar nominee Jonah Hill.” Academy, look what you’ve done.

The show is only minutes from starting and we will know the outcome by the end of the night. Winners have already been selected, but no matter what, I hope the people you have rooted for will win.

Image Courtesy of Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.

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When the world’s worst babysitter takes three of the world’s worst kids on an unforgettable overnight adventure through the streets of New York City, it’s anyone’s guess as to who is going to make it home in one piece. Jonah Hill is The Sitter, a new level of twisted and debauched storytelling from the director of Pineapple Express.

Subversive. Vulgar. Envelope-pushing. And that’s just the first few minutes of the comedy The Sitter, which, after those unforgettable 200 seconds or so, proceeds to go to even more extreme lengths of verbal scatology, plus assorted drug runs, bar fights, and episodes of grand larceny.

Its cast of characters includes a drug kingpin, his fast-talking associate, a sexually selfish, coke-seeking woman, a trio of really, really effed–up kids, and a debased college dropout who earns his rep as the babysitter from hell only minutes after arriving on the scene.

Interwoven with The Sitter’s raunchy fun are quieter and gentler comedic moments that sneak up to connect with audiences in unexpected ways. The heart, soul and titular anti-hero of The Sitter is Jonah Hill, who emerged as a formidable and original comedic voice in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad, and who more recently was hailed for his dramatic performances in the acclaimed independent film Cyrus, and opposite Brad Pitt in the critical and box-office hit Moneyball.

Hill’s on-screen character, Noah, is not your typical entertain-the-kids-no-matter-how-boring-it-is kind of sitter. Not even close. He’s reluctant to take the sitting gig; he’d rather, well, be doing anything else, especially if it involves slacking. “Noah is more of the ‘sit on the sofa, eat a burrito, and do-whatever-I-say-or-I’ll-kill-you’ type of babysitter,” says Hill.

Hill, who also serves as an executive producer on The Sitter, worked closely with his director, David Gordon Green to ensure that the film had maximum comedic and emotional impact. “The humor in The Sitter is rowdy and bawdy, but it has a heart of gold at its core,” says Green, whose blockbuster comedy Pineapple Express, expertly merged the yin and yang of raunchiness and heart.

“David has a great sense of humor,” says Hill,” “but getting to know him, I realized that we also shared a desire to bring some unexpected texture, details and layers to the film.”

The Sitter began life as a simple idea imagined by screenwriters Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka. “We thought it’d be fun to watch Jonah Hill, screaming and cursing at the kids he was babysitting,” says Gatewood. “But then the challenge was, how do we make a movie around that idea,” adds Tanaka.

“We envisioned The Sitter as more than a funny idea or sketch; we wanted to come up with characters that have arcs, and where things fall apart and somehow must be put back together.” Along with screenwriters Gatewood and Tanaka, Hill, Green and producer Michael De Luca worked tirelessly to flesh out the story and characters, starting with the Sitter himself.

“Noah is at a crossroads in his life,” Hill explains. “He’s been kicked out of school, he’s dating a woman who doesn’t treat him very well, and all he wants to do is hang out on his mom’s sofa and watch TV. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do with his life.” Adds De Luca: “Noah is stuck. He’s not moving forward with his life and he’s regretting some of his past choices.”

Noah’s choices in the present are, unsurprisingly, extremely limited. It says a lot that Noah’s best option is a quick babysitting stint, which he very reluctantly agrees to, and then only to help out his mom, who’s eyeing a blind date with a surgeon (set up by the parents of the kids Noah is to watch). “Noah just wants to get the babysitting gig over with, so he can go back to watching TV at his mom’s place,” Hill explains.

But once Noah becomes The Sitter, there’s no going back to his former life – whatever that was. In the comfortable suburban New York home where Noah is to be spending the evening babysitting, lurk three youngsters – his would-be charges – that Noah will immediately, and justifiably, characterize as “freaks.”

The eldest, Slater (Max Records), 13, is riddled with anxiety and identity issues, for which he takes a disciplined regimen of pills. Even with the meds, Slater is poised to freak out at a moment’s notice. “I loved the character’s conflicted and surprisingly subtle nature,” says Green, “and Max, who impressed me with his work in [Spike Jonze’s 2009 feature film] Where the Wild Things Are, brings out all of Slater’s inner turmoil and dimensions.

Then there’s Blithe (newcomer Landry Bender), 9, who enjoys playing dress-up…in pink palettes and slathered with her mom’s makeup. Noah’s first encounter with the mini-“celebutante” is unpleasant: Blithe twice sprays him in the mouth with a bottle of floral perfume. “She’s insane!” says Hill of the character. “Blithe represents a segment of our culture whose entire world revolves around partying. But, being nine years old, she has no understanding of what ‘partying’ and celebrity culture even mean.”

The terrible troika is completed by ten-year-old Rodrigò (Kevin Hernandez), a defiant and explosion-happy mini-thug the family adopted in Mexico. Rodrigo is not happy unless he’s blowing s*it up…literally; as Noah and the kids begin their misbegotten odyssey Rodrigò’s cherry bombs victimize several toilets across New York City. And his theft of a priceless item from the lair of an eccentric drug kingpin triggers an endless series of problems for the besieged Sitter.

Still, the filmmakers had no problem seeing the hardened youngster’s softer side. “Rodrigò pretends to be a badass because he’s been bounced around foster homes, and thinks his time with his latest family will be limited. But he really wants to be a part of the family,” says Hill. Adds Green: “Kevin brings a lot of fun to a character marked by tension and alienation.”

As the confrontations, arguments, fights, explosions, dive bar visits, and instances of grand larceny escalate, Noah finds himself actually relating to the kids. “Noah realizes each of them has problems and issues, and he actually begins to understand and help them work through those issues,” says Hill.

Offers De Luca: “All the characters are working the wrong angle. They’re all on the wrong path and thinking they want what they don’t need.” Together, they begin to figure things out.

The Sitter is in theaters everywhere December 9.

Image Courtesy of  https://www.facebook.com/thesitter

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The movie script was originally written by Stan Chervin, the movie is being released through Columbia pictures and stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The movie was originally intended to begin production in June 2009 but days before filming began Sony put the film on hold.

The film script had elements in it that were non traditional for a sports movie. As such there were no interviews with real life players and as a result of this the film director Steven Soderbergh was let go. He was replaced by Bennett Miller and Adam Sorkin rewrote the script. The movie puts a different spin on the story of baseball.

Although there have been movies made about baseball before this is not a typical movie about baseball. The movie is about a man who had a vision to do something new in baseball. He was told he was leading a team of people who were rejected by the scouts and a team that couldn’t compete with the major teams because of lack of finances. Billy never gave up his dreams despite the obstacles in front of him.

Even in making this movie it was not an easy project to get off the ground because it doesn’t fall in the typical category of a sports movie. This was the reason for the dismissal of the original director. The movie is based on a non fiction book of the same name published by Michael Lewis in 2003.

Its amazing movie that really is inspiring and it’s a film that would be enjoyed by most people but especially those people who have always dreamed about taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball’s conventional wisdom he has a big dream the desire to do something and the wisdom to pull it off.

He believes baseballs conventional wisdom is wrong. He is forced to basically reinvent the game on a very tight budget . He will have to outwit the richer clubs and work out how exactly is he going to do this. That’s what the film will desire to reveal to audiences. This one time jock will team up with ivy league graduate Peter Brand played by Jonah Hill, in the most unlikely partnership.

Together they recruit all the bargain players that the scouts have labelled them as flaws but they still have the ability to get on base score points and win the game. Many are saying that Beane is tearing the heart and soul out of the game. All Beane is doing is revolutionizing the game and changing the system to give evryone a chance to play.

The great thing about films like this are even though there are challenges in this case big teams with a lot of money, with faith and perserverance our dreams can be realised if don’t allow anyone to stand in our way.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.moneyball-movie.com/

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