If you've ever wanted to roam around the largest house in the country, you may soon get the chance: The Queen of Versailles debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this year and has just been picked up by Magnolia Pictures. Directed by Lauren Greenfield, the film chronicles the drama surrounding the construction and ultimate failure of a massive estate in Windermere, Fla., which was cooked up by billionaire developer David Siegel and his wife, Jackie, as their ultimate dream home. By the time the couple accounted for an endless list of features and amenities—including 10 kitchens, mind you—plans had grown to 90,000 square feet. In 2008, the recession hit and the project was stalled; now, after having poured $50M into it, they're asking $100M (finished) or $75M (unfinished). Calling the film "the ultimate 'Real Housewives' tale," Hollywood.com has this assessment: "You won't feel bad that Jackie and David never got a chance to live in their real life palace, but when their marriage hits a breaking point, their children drift away and the future as they know it looks grim, you'll relate." (Unsurprisingly, Siegel is now suing both Sundance and the filmmakers.) Watch a very short clip from the piece below.
Lush production design and sparkling special effects make The Haunted Mansion pretty to look at. Terence Stamp (The Limey), as a malevolent ghost of a butler, provides a suitable air of menace as dematerializes to and fro. Marsha Thomason (Black Knight) is lovely as a real estate agent hired to sell a haunted mansion, but in truth the ghostly owner of the mansion believes she is the reincarnation of his lost love. Wallace Shawn (My Dinner with Andre) and Dina Waters (Six Feet Under) make a modestly amusing comic pair as a ghostly husband and wife who bustle about. Jennifer Tilly (Bound), as a green disembodied head in a crystal ball, glitters appropriately. The movie also features endless clichés, futile attempts at humor, and Eddie Murphy. If you're looking for a movie based on a Disneyland ride, try the very clever Pirates of the Caribbean instead. --Bret Fetzer
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