the buzz log

There’s a bull market on Wall Street these days, but only in the Buzz. Web surfers are investing a lot of time in tracking the proposed sequel to “Wall Street,” Oliver Stone’s 1987 film about stock biz shenanigans.

The film will again feature the character of Gordon Gekko, who instantly capsulized Wall Street culture when he asserted "Greed is good." The update will liberate Gekko, memorably played in the original by Michael Douglas, from prison, and then who knows what. Fans take note that Stone will not direct, nor will Charlie Sheen, who played Gekko's protégé, make an appearance.

But there's a bigger potential problem: When 20th Century Fox originally announced the project under the working title “Money Never Sleeps,” Michael Douglas was firmly attached. But the production’s first script, according to the New York Observer, was less than blue-chip, and now The Hollywood Reporter says Douglas will “make his decision of whether to return" based on the re-write. But if Douglas doesn’t play Gekko, then who? Danny Devito? (Potential tagline: “Prison can do terrible things to a man.”) And while the original focused on the relatively simple concept of insider trading, what will the sequel highlight? Sub-prime securitized mortgages? Well, who’d have thought those could be so dramatic, anyway?

Filed under: Movies

Do you ache for love and yearn for miracles? Or would you prefer to partake in scams and indulge in a little tech paranoia? From the many choices this weekend, audiences seem to be hankering for love in the Buzz Multiplex ... with a dash of paranoia. Have a little faith in hand for the three most anticipated movies this weekend.

1. "Fireproof" (PG, limited release). Kirk Cameron segued his child-star sitcom success into the "Left Behind" video series. Now he finally gets his first big-screen shot in 20 years as a firefighter out to save his marriage. A zealous nationwide drive aims to make this marital-drama-disguised-as-a-firefighter-flick the box office king this weekend: Churches have bought advance tickets, and the Christian Post reports one North Dakota woman paid for 1,000-admission minimum to get a showing in her town. The gambit might work: A nearly 200% pump in searches gets this Atlanta ministry-funded film into the top 5,000 terms, with intense interest coming from the South.

2. "Nights in Rodanthe" (PG-13). Stretch those heartstrings—the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation is out to tug at them. New York Sun dubs Sparks the "Stephen King of the mush-brained romantic novel," and critics might not argue with that characterization for this movie. The love story reunites Diane Lane as a woman in a bad marriage with Richard Gere as a doctor with his own issues. Throw them in a North Carolina bed-and-breakfast, cue a hurricane, and watch the intensely female Web interest (76% of searches) flow. While interest is coast to coast, the biggest fans hail from (of course) the Tar Heel State.

3. "Eagle Eye" (PG-13). Shia LaBeouf tests his mettle as a leading man (come on, "Transformers" didn't really count) in this so-called techno thriller about two strangers manipulated into peril by an anonymous cell phone voice. The compromise date movie of the week attracts Web interest from kids to people in their 40s. Still, the relatively lukewarm appeal could mean now's not quite the time for LaBeouf to take that next level on the celebrity ladder. 

Filed under: Movies, Romance

Obsession with a twist rules the eclectic showings at the Buzz Multiplex this week, from a black cop against miscegenation, to a hunchbacked scientist who creates good for an evil science fair, to a spurned suitor who sends his piggish pal to the object of his fascination.

1. "Lakeview Terrace" (PG-13). Director Neil LaBute's creative history has had some critical highs ("In the Company of Men") and some whomping lows ("The Wicker Man" remake). That may explain his uneven take on the tale of as a racist cop who objects to his neighbor's interracial marriage. Regardless of critical reaction, Samuel Jackson as the "glowering cop" gets kudos for always being better than his surroundings, and bigger than his castmembers' searches.

2. "Igor" (PG). Yes, not all animators work for Disney or Pixar. An indie vision borrows Victor Hugo's tragic hunchback and spiffs him up for a 21st-century outing. This time, Igor has some Dr. Frankenstein aspirations and creates a sweet-natured Eva (voiced by Molly Shannon) for the annual evil-monster science fair. John Cusack lends his vocal chords as the lead hunchman, and Steve Buscemi is cast, in an oddly appropriate way, as a reincarnated rabbit. Mixed reviews call this a "screwball" comedy that's "wickedly funny," but MTV finds "Igor" suffers from a "humor deficit." (Check out the MTV review for a fleeting parenthetical history of the first Hollywood evil assistants.)

3. "My Best Friend's Girl" (R). The only R-rated movie of the bunch could be slicing out about a quarter of the potential audience, considering the 23% Search interest from kids under 18. Kate Hudson cuts her usual romantic-comedy screen persona loose with a foul mouth and sexual aggression. Hudson's appeal definitely outweighs the movie itself, in which Jason Biggs sends best pal and womanizer Dane Cook after his ex-girlfriend. The plan backfires, and Biggs also suffer the offscreen indignity of having only 8% of Cook's online popularity... and a third of castmate Alec Baldwin's searches, for that matter.

Others sought out on the Buzz Marquee... "The Duchess" (PG-13, limited release) is all about a big-haired Keira Knightley, who prefers Dominic Cooper to Ralph Fiennes. As if: Searchers certainly don't agree with her choice ... The old West returns with pardners Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris in the based-on-a-novel "Appaloosa" (R, limited) but Renee Zellweger provides much welcome female presence with more searches than the two cowboys combined ... A cast headed by Brit Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni give "Ghost Town" (PG-13) a late Search surge ... Finally, the "Battle in Seattle" (R, limited) brings together Charlize Theron, Andre 3000, and Woody Harrelson in a film about the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization.

Filed under: Movies