As soon as this story hit, I had to check to make sure a) it wasn't April 1st, and b) we all still lived on the planet Earth. Yes, I'm not kidding about this one -- The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Werner Herzog is remaking Abel Ferrara's gritty, NC-17-rated cult classic,Bad Lieutenant, and none other than Nicolas Cage is going to star. Nic Cage! Werner Herzog! Am I the only one who's completely blown away by this bizarre news? (Though, to be fair, we did kinda see this coming ...)
Cage will take on the role originally played by Harvey Keitel; he'll slip into the part of a drug and sex-addicted corrupt cop, though there's no word on how far they'll take this version of the film. However, exec producer Avi Lerner did promise this new take will "deliver as much filth as the original." Wonderful! We'll look forward to it Avi! Nu Image/Millennium Films will finance, with Pressman Film Corp. producing. When asked about his opinion on this new project, Cinematical snark expert Scott Weinberg said "Awesome, let's hope it's as funny as his last remake. The Wicker Man as a comedy ... brilliant!" (Oh man, this is such a nasty, nasty film.)
Okay, now it's your turn: I know you folks are dying to sound off on this one below ...
When Marvel officially announced the release date for Thor last week (June 4, 2010), news quickly followed that Matthew Vaughn was no longer directing, a script was being fine-tuned and Marvel was in search of an actor to fill Thor's mighty shoes. Seeing as he's blonde, a very popular actor and has starred in films like Troy, the first name to pop into the minds of fanboys (and girls) everywhere was Brad Pitt. And whaddya know: Latino Review is saying this week that Pitt is at the top of Marvel's wishlist. Who woulda thunk it?
On paper, this does seem like a logical -- and realistic -- choice. Pitt is at a similar point in his career as Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton and even Johnny Depp (who surprised fans by starring in three Pirates of the Caribbean films for Disney). If there ever was a right time for Pitt to take a leap and "do one for his kids," Thor would be that project -- especially since his gal Angelina has already starred in two Tomb Raider flicks. But then the guy would have to sign for at least three films (most likely), not to mention the fact that he'd need to be in phenomenal shape. Plus, perhaps Troy was Pitt's Thor, and maybe he's tired of all those giant blockbusters; maybe he'd rather do some smaller stuff.
However, then you look around Hollywood and, honestly, who else could play the Marvel superhero? Taking into consideration the move by Marvel to hire bigger names for their films, is there anyone else who could muscle-up and play Thor? Or is Pitt the only name that could truly bring this project to the next level?
Bit by bit, we get closer to the soon-to-be-sped-through biopic on George W. Bush, W-- remember, although it hasn't been completely cast, and is just one day into production, it will hit theaters this October. We've got Josh Brolin as Dubya, Elizabeth Banks as Laura, Rob Corddry as Ari Fleischer, James Cromwell as George Sr., Ellen Burstyn as Barbara, Thandie Newton as Condoleeza, Ioan Gruffudd as Tony Blair, and Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell.
And now, Empire reports that Scott Glenn is going to play former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It's a fair likeness, and not half as surprising as Brolin being Bush. It's also a fair casting move considering Glenn's previous work, from his CIA director in The Bourne Ultimatum, to his Jack Crawford in Silence of the Lambs, to his Lieutenant Richard M. Colby in Apocalypse Now.
But really, even with potential script issues and questionable likenesses, I'm completely charmed by this cast and hoping that it won't be one of those huge ensemble stinkers. I'm not even particularly interested in more Dubya, but I can't resist a film that has both Burstyn and Wright.
A comfortable and charming cinematic couple will reunite in two forthcoming comedies, but which will come first? At the end of March, Monika Bartyzel passed on the news that Steve Martin and Diane Keaton would re-team for the first time in more than a decade for the family comedy One Big Happy. Martin and Keaton were attached to the pitch from Party of Five creators Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman, which Paramount Pictures bought. Keyser and Lippman have other projects in various stages of development and no production timeline was mentioned.
Now, according to Variety, Paramount has bought another comedy pitch, this time from Steve Martin. Producer Robert Simonds presented Martin's idea for a comedy entitled From Zero to Sixty to all the major studios last week and Paramount was the "most aggresive in taking it off the table." Martin and Keaton would play a couple, but no other plot details emerged. Variety says production could start in the fall, but that's assuming a writer can be signed and the script completed very quickly. It may be that Paramount wants to fast track From Zero to Sixty because the script for One Big Happy will take a while to complete because of the writers' other projects.
Martin and Keaton starred together in Father of the Bride in 1991 and then followed that up with the sequel in 1995. Those films were very silly and forgettable, and I imagine these two new comedies will follow a similar path to box office success.
With the 2008 Festival de Cannes right around the corner, we thought we'd give you a preview of the films we're most excited about watching at this year's fest. From Indy to Angelina, there's something for everyone this year -- and while Cinematical's James Rocchi and Kim Voynar set up camp in France (daily coverage starts Wednesday), here are the ten films we're looking forward to the most. To get started, just click on any of the images below to find out more about that film ...
It looks like Natascha McElhone is now getting her chance to shine. For the most part, the actress has had co-starring gigs in films like Laurel Canyon, FeardotCom, and Solaris, but has been overshadowed by her bigger-name co-stars. Heck, even in Californication, David Duchovny steals the show. But now the tide might be turning as she's getting a headlining gig.
Variety reports that she's going to star with James Purefoy in Marleen Gorris'Heaven & Earth for Focus Films. The film, which was written by Malcolm Kohll and Marsha Levin, will focus on "Britain's first female doctor, James Miranda Barry (McElhone), who was forced to disguise herself as a man in order to practice medicine." But of course, it can't just be about the medicine. Set in the early 19th century, the film will focus on her love affair with the governor of Cape Town, Lord Charles Somerset (Purefoy).
It's disappointing that they're focusing on the romance rather than her achievements, but at the very least, it should be an opportunity for McElhone to show off her acting chops. Production is currently scheduled to begin on December 10 in the UK, and will shoot in Cape Town, South Africa in January.
Alas, like always, I see "Sasha Alexander" and immediately mix her up with Sasha Jenson, the sex fiend from Dazed and Confused. For some reason, I do this every time I see her name. But since it isn't Jenson, let's get back on track. Sasha Alexander, who you might remember from Wasteland or her stint as Gretchen Witter on Dawson's Creek, has picked up an indie gig for herself. Variety reports that she's got a role in Tenure, which stars Luke Wilson and Gretchen Mol as two professors who, well, compete for tenure. But she's also got roles in He's Just Not That Into You and Yes Man, so we should be seeing more of her in the near future.
Meanwhile, Variety reports that Rob Kerkovich, who got to play one of the many partygoers in Cloverfield, is getting a more prominent gig, and one that shouldn't be putting him in monster's way. He's landed a role in Bart Freundlich's The Rebound, which stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Justin Bartha. (This is that May/December romance flick.) Kerkovich will play a stoner co-worker of Bartha's character. Ah, that sounds like just the sort of company a single mom would want to keep with her new younger boyfriend.
Before we Bronte devotees could really whine and cry about the casting (there's still Ellen Page in Jane Eyre for that), it ceases to be. According to Variety, Natalie Portman has dropped out of the upcoming Wuthering Heights, leaving the film rather lost without a Cathy Earnshaw. According to Portman's publicist, the actress had a scheduling conflict with another project, which has not yet been announced.
So now, Ecross executives and director John Maybury are on the hunt for a new Cathy. As of yet, there are no contenders to the role, so now is our chance! Speak up, Cinematical readers, and let us flood the Internet with suggestions. Personally, I want to go back in time and import teenage Kate Winslet, Helena Bonham Carter, Kate Beckinsale or Lena Headey. As I cannot, I'm at a bit of a loss. Keira Knightley merits exclusion because of having played Elizabeth Bennett, and I think there's a rule that you can only play one standard of English Literature. I'm being rather stuffy in looking only to the UK, but nothing could ruin this movie faster than a wonky accent.
Interestingly, we finally have a name for Heathcliff. According to the Variety article, Michael Fassbender is in advanced talks to play the famous heinous, yet oh-so-sexy hero. I have only seen him as Stelios in 300, but he's getting good buzz for Hunger. Count me in the "intrigued, and not opposed" category, I guess, until further notice. His casting will mean my sister will be first in line for a ticket, that's for sure.
We can still whine and cry about the casting, though. It is our right as Internet film geeks, and ones with Gothic tastes. Oh heck, let's just gush about the book! We'll have our own Bronte Day here.
It might not be the best quality image, but the first glimpse of Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as the anime hero, Goku, has finally hit the net -- and I have to admit, it doesn't look half-bad. A dedicated Dragonball Z fan submitted a scan from the Japanese magazine Shonen Jump to the Dragonball fan site (see to the right; click to enlarge) and even though it's blurry and covered in Japanese, it does give me hope that the film won't be a total disaster. Fox has kept a tight grip on updates for the film, and other than a few MySpace entries from co-star Emmy Rossum, the most we have gotten was a leaked teaser poster.
Dragonball was written and directed by James Wong and tells the story of Goku, a young man locked in a struggle with the evil Piccolo (James Marsters) over some mystical globes known as 'dragon balls'. The debate over whether or not Chatwin was going to be able to pull off the classic manga character was a big source of contention among fans. It's not like it's easy to ignore the obvious racial 'disparity' in hiring Chatwin to play a guy that normally looks like this.
So what do you think? Now that we have finally seen Chatwin in all his manga glory, will it be enough to silence detractors? Or will it be the last piece of the puzzle that proves they were right all along?
Dragonball will arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2009.
Just when you thought it couldn't get worse for Lindsay Lohan, Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that Lohan has been dropped from the true-life crime flick, Manson's Girls. According to DHD, "people associated with the movie told agents that Lohan quickly became more of a deficit than an asset when they discovered that they couldn't find any name actresses who wanted to co-star with her. (And even some name actors...) So now Lindsay is off the pic."
Ouch, that can't be good for her self-esteem, although the gossip gal in me would have liked to hear the names of some of those "name actors".
Ever the astute observer, both of movies and of real life, Roger Ebert posted on his shiny new blog today a great post wondering what Hillary and Bill: The Movie might look like. Ebert talks about great political movies of the past, especially noting two of my own faves, Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog and Warren Beatty's fantastic Bulworth (two of the best political movies ever made). He ponders what a movie -- a narrative, not a documentary -- following the private moments of Hillary and Bill Clinton, during the last days of this seemingly endless primary campaign, might look like. Ebert writes:
Yet there must have been private moments of despair. The two realists, as able as anyone to read the trends, must have spoken privately about their shrinking options. And on Tuesday night, as Hillary's double-digit lead in Indiana dwindled to very small single digits, there must have come a time when one of them said, "We've lost this thing."
What were those moments like? What kept them going between themselves? Did they encourage one another, or was there an unspoken pact not to voice the unspeakable? Was there blame when Bill had one of his unwise moments? Did their shared past, of success and scandal, enter into it, or were they absorbed in this moment?
In answering those questions, there you would find the movie.
First there was Josh Hartnett as a drifter. Then came Demi Moore as a captive courtesan, while Woody Harrelson sign on to be a bartender (once again) and Shun Sugata grabbed an uncle role. Now, we've got a bad guy. The Hollywood Reporter posts that the big bad of Bunraku will be played by HellboyRon Perlman, just days after he signed on for The Job.
Guy Moshe's film will be set in a Sin City sort of hyperstylized universe, and as Jessica originally shared, it's got a whole bunch of weird artistic genres that it's pulling from -- puppets, video games, origami, comic books, and even German expressionism. Hartnett's Drifter teams up with a samurai played by Japanese actor Gackt, and they go after Perlman's Eastern European gang lord. I ... have absolutely no idea what to expect from this. The story is simple enough, but I can't imagine how origami, puppets, and other mish-mashed styles will fit into this martial arts story. Oh yeah, and if that wasn't enough, Hartnett originally compared it to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope.
Will we really be getting a film that's one long take of CGI, puppets, martial arts, and fights between good guys and bad guys? It sounds more like one of those weird dreams that wakes you up and wonder what your dream mind was thinking.
I'd probably go to see A Good Old Fashioned Orgy just for the title. It's got punch, and it is a great, brief description of what's to come. It sort of reminds me of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas for a new generation. But the story is different, and instead of a big-busted country singer, we're getting a little slice of Saturday Night Live. Variety reports that Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and Leslie Bibb have signed on to star in the film, which will be directed by co-writers Pete Huyck and Alex Gregory (King of the Hill).
Sudeikis will star as a 30-year-old dude with wealthy parents. However, he's "forced to grow up when his father decides to sell the family vacation home in the Hamptons, bringing an end to his tradition of throwing elaborate summer theme parties. Wanting to go out with a bang, he enlists his friends to throw one final party." Yes, it's an orgy. I guess he doesn't mind seeing all his friends nude, or bumping bare butts with a buddy.
There's great potential for this flick, which begins production this month in North Carolina. But it makes me wonder -- how long until we get another sex-centered comedy? Sex comedies used to be more about the thinking, and then maybe the doing, but now we've got both an orgy and Zack and Miri Make a Porno on the way. What's next?
Now that you know what Josh Brolin's George W. Bush will look like, you should know that you'll get to see him in action real soon -- probably sooner than you thought. The ever-courageous Lionsgate has picked upOliver Stone's W, and plans to release it on October 17th. Of this year. That's 2008. Before the election. Notably, the movie hasn't even started shooting yet -- it goes into production on May 12th in Louisiana.
I never really thought the film would fail to find distribution, though early buzz on the screenplay has been fairly toxic. I did think there was going to be a race between when W would be finished and when Dubya would be finished -- that is, out of office. But apparently Stone is not messing around and plans to deliver the film in a few months, with Lionsgate hoping to capitalize on the furor that will surround the election.
Jeez -- maybe it's because I read too many blogs (or because I live in Pennsylvania, suddenly a battleground state), but it's barely May and I'm already tired of the election. Is W really how people will want to spend their leisure time in late October? I can't imagine, but I respect the folks at Lionsgate enough to think they know what they're doing. Incidentally: Dick Cheney remains uncast. Any suggestions?
I don't think it will be quite like the clip above, but we're about to get a new serving of William Tell. Variety reports that producers Fred Caruso and D. Constantine Conte are bringing Tell's story to the big screen in The Adventures of William Tell. Stunt coordinator and second AD Ian Quinn is going to make his directorial debut with the $60 million production, which was adapted from Friedrich von Schiller's play by Cornelius Schregle.
But here's the kicker, aside from probably hearing that super-speedy overture in a non-Lone Ranger setting -- it will star Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter, Kiera Chaplin. She will play Tell's wife in the film, although there's no word on who will play Tell himself. Now, we all know the music, but do you know the story? It's about the 14th century legend of a man who was forced to shoot an apple off of his son's head to win his freedom from some jerky Austrian occupiers. "The event is said to have triggered a rebellion by the Swiss against their Austrian rules and transformed Tell into a mythical freedom fighter." (... as well as one very sneaky and insidious song.) Production will start on the film this fall, with a release schedule for 2010.
As soon as this story hit, I had to check to make sure a) it wasn't April 1st, and b) we all still lived on the planet Earth. Yes, I'm not kidding about this one -- The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Werner Herzog is remaking Abel Ferrara's gritty, NC-17-rated cult classic,Bad Lieutenant, and none other than Nicolas Cage is going to star. Nic Cage! Werner Herzog! Am I the only one who's completely blown away by this bizarre news? (Though, to be fair, we did kinda see this coming ...)
Bit by bit, we get closer to the soon-to-be-sped-through biopic on George W. Bush, 
A comfortable and charming cinematic couple will reunite in two forthcoming comedies, but which will come first? At the end of March, 
It looks like 
Here's some Monday nibblets for you:
Before we Bronte devotees could really whine and cry about the casting (there's still 
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Just when you thought it couldn't get 
Ever the astute observer, both of movies and of real life, Roger Ebert 
First there was Josh Hartnett as 
I'd probably go to see A Good Old Fashioned Orgy just for the title. It's got punch, and it is a great, brief description of what's to come. It sort of reminds me of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas for a new generation. But the story is different, and instead of a big-busted country singer, we're getting a little slice of Saturday Night Live. 
Now that you know what Josh Brolin's George W. Bush will 
Discuss: Could Brad Pitt Really Play Thor?
The Geek Beat: How To Make a Fangirl (A Belated Mother's Day Card)
Cinematical's 2008 Cannes Preview
