It's a Saturday and therefore a slow day because otherwise we might not bother or at least see where this one lands or nets out, but AICN is reporting that in a German issue of GQ, actor Matthias Schweighﾃｶfer ("Valkyrie," "Red Baron") is claiming Robert DeNiro and Jude Law have joined the cast of Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" in some unknown capacity. Apparently the actor is vying for a role in the Marvel comics live-action film adaptation and this is how he's privy to this so-called knowledge, but we'd file it strictly under rumor for now.
We found a interview with Schweighﾃｶfer in German GQ and there was no mention of DeNiro, Law or "Thor," but it appears to be old so no dice. DeNiro worked with Branagh in the 1994 version of "Frankenstein" and the British actor/ filmmaker was set to direct Law as Hamlet onstage this summer but then dropped out a year ago specifically because of his Marvel commitments to "Thor." One could speculate that this is Branagh trying to make things right, but again, that's just conjecture and we won't really know until there's an official announcement.
Still if it turns out to be true, it would seem that Branagh is treating "Thor" as seriously as Nolan did "The Dark Knight," which would never be a bad thing and probably necessary. You likely couldn't pull off a Thor film with the light humorist tone of say, "Iron Man." Not all geeks are sold on Branagh helming "Thor," but to us it's the most interesting of the Marvel film ideas so far.
10/17/2009
Rumor: DeNiro & Jude Law To Join 'Thor'?
'Precious' Director Lee Daniels Hoping To Tackle 'Miss Saigon'
With "Precious" director Lee Daniels soaking in all the ecstatic buzz from his brutal coming-of-age drama, he's already setting his sights on future projects. (We're waiting for someone to realize that the least impressive thing about "Precious" was its technical ineptitude, both on the directorial and editorial fronts. Seriously, this thing is like cinematic finger-painting sometimes.)
He told our buddy Edward Douglas over at Coming Soon that he wants to do a big screen version of the insanely popular "Miss Saigon." Again, this is an intriguing prospect but "Miss Saigon" would require a more refined stylistic approach, instead of Lee Daniels' stylistic sledgehammer. The other film he's looking to make is called "Selma," another in a long line of Civil Rights dramas where the hero is a white guy (see also: "Ghosts of Mississippi," "Amistad," etc.)
Daniels explained the movie to Douglas in his typically inarticulate, theatrical way: "It's really Lyndon Johnson's story. Martin Luther King is a part of it, but it's really the arc of a man that starts out as a racist who is forced to look at himself in the mirror and then ultimately side with King. It's really a journey of a white cat and how he sneers at tradition and against George Wallace, against everybody, says, 'Uh-uh.'"
Right.
We liked bits of "Precious" and overall were quite moved, but these emotions were in direct sentiment to anything the director put forth. Hopefully he'll quell his overactive stylistic urges and make a solid movie, devoid of any of that bullshit. - Drew Taylor
Producers Want Jackie Earle Haley To Play 'Green Lantern' Villain Sinestro?
Jackie Earle Haley, who made fanboys giddy with his one-two double punch of dudes-who-have-gravely-voices and-wear-brown-hats performances (that'd be "Watchmen" and the upcoming Michael Bay-led reboot of "Nightmare on Elm Street"), will now inhabit another geeky favorite as the lead villain in Martin Campbell's "Green Lantern."
This, according to the exclamation point-prone webmaster of Ain't It Cool News, Harry Knowles. He says that Jackie Earle Haley is near the top of the wishlist to play Sinestro, the big bad of the "Green Lantern" universe. Sinestro used to be Hal Jordan's mentor but went very, very bad. (For more of that backstory see the excellent animated movie "Green Lantern: First Flight," which was released earlier this year on DVD.) Supposedly the comic book character was based in part on David Niven, with his slicked-back hair and pencil-thin moustache. We think Haley's a great actor, but why is he wasting his talents here? Payday? He's also kind of a freaky little weird guy. He's not exactly the suave and imposing character we imagined Sinestro to be.
In the same post, Knowles speculates that Superman will make a cameo in the "Green Lantern" movie, which is kind of cool but a slippery slope -- why not the entire Justice League? If Superman waltzes through in the middle of the movie, it would just be insane and awful. Furthermore, it's just not gonna happen (though in one early draft there was a quick flash of color that was meant to allude to him, but that's hardly an appearance). The thing that made the "Hulk"/"Iron Man" crossover stuff work was that it was more like a coda and not part of the body of the movie.
I guess we'll see. We're just hoping they'll find a way to put Sinestro in a brown hat. - Drew Taylor
Update: So Collider talked to Jackie Earle Hayley today and he said this was the first he had heard of it, he's not screen tested, he's not been involved at all. Ugh. So what this means is AICN probably talked to someone on the production who said, "oh yeah, they really want Jackie Earle Hayley, he's one of their first choices," and they ran with it to get ahead of the curve, but it means nothing right now. We knew about a few people that the filmmakers of "Predators" wanted for example and you know what? We didn't report it cause it was just those preliminary, "you know who would be great?" conversations and these discussions always take place before an agent or any kind of contact is made. 50% (or much more) it never happens. People need to learn from this that you don't report, "oh they're thinking about this person" conversations cause it's just too early in the game, but film writers also aren't easily embarrassed for some strange reason. And then perhaps we need to learn to filter that bullshit out and not add to the noise out there, cause we do wince easily at bullshit like this.
10/16/2009
Bill Murray On Congenial Relationship With McG: "He Deserves To Die"
The bad juju on the notoriously fractious set of "Charlie's Angels" is almost the stuff of legend.
And this is just us extrapolating everything we've heard and read on the situation (which is a significant amount), but it appears that Bill Murray was somehow convinced to appear in the McG-directed picture as Bosley (probably because of the charming and sweet Drew Barrymore) and then pretty much instantly regretted it when he got to the shoot, probably realizing he had somehow agreed to star in pretty vapid and pointless remake of a '70s TV show.
Because once he got there, the gruff, infamously don't-give-a-fuck star started butting heads with people, both literally and figuratively. He loathed Lucy Liu, would drop insults to her face about her acting inability and according to McG, Murray actually headbutted him on the set.
But Murray was recently asked about the headbutting incident, something that McG only first talked about publicly during the press for "Terminator Salvation" and denied it.
"It's bullshit," he told Female First during "Fantastic Mr. Fox" press in the U.K. "That's complete crap. I don't know why he made that story up. He has a very active imagination."
McG at the time said all film sets have tension. "I don't think there's been a film I've made where there hasn't been some kind of physical fight."
But the actor also says that next time he sees McG he's going to bury the hatchet, plant a sloppy wet kiss on his face, and then make-up and perhaps go out for some brewskis afterwards. "He deserves to die," Murray said. "He should be pierced with a lance, not headbutted."
LOL. Classic. Someone will surely ask McG about this soon. Can't wait to hear his response.
The Last Word On 'Fox' Imbroglio?
All the hub-bub made between Wes Anderson and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" cinematographer Tristan Oliver? Anderson has replied once more, this time to the L.A. Times who started the whole fuss.
Anderson admits that he and Oliver butted heads, but says it's part of the creative process. He doesn't really let him off the hook for his comments though, calling them, "unprofessional."
He's right, but he loses us when he tries to argue that the word "sociopath" — one of the epithets Oliver lobbied at him — "has a somewhat different meaning in England than in America." Uhh, we're pretty sure it doesn't, but whatever. All seems good in the good. Or the fox hole, what have you.
Wes' last word is this: "I'm annoyed, but Tristan is really good and I like him and I could go back and work with him again." One of our contributors reviewed the film in London earlier this week and gave it a mostly positive review calling it a minor work, but an enjoyable one.
FNC '09 Roundup: 'Mary And Max,' 'Eccentricities Of A Blond Hair Girl' and 'The Red Race'
Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinema wraps up this weekend and we're trying to find a spare moment between screenings to get these reviews done. Here's a few more films we've seen over the past couple of days as we prepare for a full two days of screenings this weekend including the surprise addition of Michael Haneke's Cannes winner "The White Ribbon"; Harmony Korine's lo-fi "Trash Humpers"; Bong Joon-Ho's mommy issues thriller "Mother" and more. Stay tuned next week for reviews of all of those and more including Lars Von Trier's meme-spawning (never thought we'd write that) "Antichrist."
"Mary And Max" — The term "animation for adults" usually makes us shudder, as there really hasn't been any smash successes in the field, and the films are usually so bent on delivering "adult" material (ie. sex and 
swearing) that things like plot development and entertainment value are thrown out. Well, "Mary And Max" the first feature length claymation film by Australian Oscar winner Adam Elliot finally delivers an animated film for adults that is frequently charming, utterly moving, smashingly original and has earned itself a firm place as one of our favorite films of the year. The film's unique premise follows the penpal correspondence between two very unlikely people - eight-year-old Australian Mary (Toni Collette) and forty-four-year-old New Yorker Max (an unrecognizable Philip Seymour Hoffman). Mary, who picked Max's name randomly out of the phonebook shares her fears, ambitions and secrets with Max who, practically housebound for reasons that are later explained, finds a kinship in her letters. They continue their correspondence as Mary continues to grow up, graduate and attend college, and as they share their successes and failures some of the themes including mental illness and alcoholism show why the film won't be suited to little ones.
Elliot does a wonderful job here creating some beautifully distinct sets for his Australian and New York worlds. While most of the film is in ugly brown and greys, they accurately reflect the dark journeys of these characters (indeed, some of it is grim, if blackly hilarious stuff) with subtle punctuations of color when appropriate. The voice performances are aced as well, particularly Hoffman who channels the kind of older, ornery, New York Jew that would be right at home in a Woody Allen film. But the real secret weapon of the film is Dale Cornelius' evocative score. Particularly his main theme for Mary, his pieces are ridiculously catchy and remind us of some of Mark Mothersbaugh's best work for Wes Anderson though with a slightly poppier edge. We still had some of the pieces running circles in our head the next day.
Outside of Pixar, we can't remember the last animated film with this much depth and artistry that actually made us care this deeply about the characters. It's a crime that the film, which opened Sundance, still has no US distribution. We imagine that distributors are put off by the darker than usual themes presented by this animated film, but we hope someone out there grabs it and brings it overseas. This is exactly the kind of film an indie distributor could do gangbusters with in a limited rollout. The audience we saw it with laughed, sighed and cried throughout and simply loved every second of it.
Do whatever you can to see this. [A]
"The Eccentricities Of A Blond Hair Girl" — The extraordinarily brief sixty-four minute film by 100 year-old director Manoel de Oliveira tells the story of an accountant Macario (Richard Trepa) who falls in love with the beautiful Luisa (played by the striking and luminous Catarina Wallenstein) who he first 
notices in an apartment window across from his office. He instantly falls in love with her and sets out to meet her against all obstacles. The film builds excruciatingly slowly, as Macario almost ruins his life pursuing Luisa, before finally winning her which sets up the most discussed part of the film - the ending. Depending on how you look at it, the ending of de Oliveira's enigmatic fable is either brilliantly cynical or disgustingly misogynistic but either way there isn't enough in the previous hour that allows it to land with any impact. We simply can't agree with our colleague Sam C. Mac who awarded the film an 'A', praising its thematic elements. While the film does sort of touch upon the current economic climate, there is simply not enough character or plot development in its sixty-four minutes to justify the film's ugly finish. While we do agree the film is impeccably shot — in fact, a sequence set inside a wealthy notary's house in the early third of the picture is one of the best things we've seen all year — Oliveira's film is a gorgeous, but empty failure. [D]
"The Red Race" — With no voiceover narration, exposition or even character introductions, Gan Chao's documentary on China's rigorous children's gymnastic program is not as shocking as it wants to be. The lack of 
any background information or context makes Chao's film difficult to swallow as we can only assume that the all too brief film (which runs at seventy minutes) cherry picks the worst moments to try and make a provocative statement about China's draconian methods to ensure Olympic gold. To be sure, there are a couple very shocking moments of borderline abuse, but the majority of it would parallel the worst sports parents in North America. Chao's film does briefly touch on issues of patriotism, Eastern family values, immigration, and class boundaries but with absolutely no framework to the film these avenues are frustratingly left unexplored. Chao clearly wants "The Red Race" to be an eye-opening expose on China's rigid, fascist attitudes, but the problem is his approach leaves too many questions unanswered, resulting in his own film being a sort of propaganda of its own. [C-]
LFF '09 Day Three: 'The Road' and 'A Single Man'
Having kicked off the festival with a pair of comedies, today brought a much more serious tone, with John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Road," and fashion designer Tom Ford's directorial debut, "A Single Man."
The Playlist's editor-in-chief pretty much flipped for "A Single Man" at Toronto, and we agree with pretty much every word he wrote — it's easily one of the best movies of the year. We went in pretty skeptical, despite the great buzz — from the melodramatic-sounding subject matter, and the fashion background of the director, we were expecting a handsome, but thin picture, like Todd Haynes' "Far From Heaven." As it turns out, it's undeniably a great looking film (we're particularly envious of Firth's wardrobe, it should be said), but it's also a deeply soulful, moving piece of work. Ford proves himself a born director (the cutting in particular is exceptional — editor Joan Sobel does a tremendous job), and we hope we'll see many more films from him. Colin Firth is every bit as good as you've heard, and if he doesn't pick up at least a nomination at the Oscars this year, it'll be a huge miscarriage of justice.
On "The Road," we were a little more lukewarm. We love the novel, an incredible piece of writing from one of the best living novelists, and we thought that John Hillcoat was a perfect choice to direct, after his extraordinary "The Proposition" — his bleak, grimy worldview seemed a perfect fit for the material.
And it many ways, he was - the film is mostly very successful. Despite some fears from the trailers, the movie hasn't been turned into a disaster film or an actioner - in fact, it's almost a beat-for-beat rendition of McCarthy's novel, plot-wise, although, to the credit of writer Joe Penhall ("Enduring Love"), it doesn't feel too episodic. Tonally, the perfect mid-point between bleakness and hope is struck, and the photography matches it beautifully. Best of all are the central performances. Kodi-Smit McPhee fully justifies the early buzz about his role - the innocence of the character as written comes through, but he never feels like a saint, he's simply a child. Viggo Mortensen, meanwhile, is spectacular as a broken man who struggles through each day because of his love for the only thing he has left.
The problems begin with the other big-name star in the cast, Charlize Theron, who plays Mortensen's wife in flashbacks, littered through the film. The bulk of these come in the first half of the movie, and they virtually cripple the movement of the narrative - one opens the film, and as soon as you begin to get involved in the post-apocalyptic world that the filmmakers have created, another one arrives. Theron's not to blame - she's very good, but it means that the film feels choppy, and as a result it takes some time to settle in. Perhaps because of this, or simply because of our familiarity with the novel, we were left a little cold by the film. Others in our audience were devastated by it, and our editor found it heartbreaking, but, in our view, the film never quite moved us in the way the book did, becoming instead a meditation on how far a good man will go to survive.
This isn't to say we disliked it — for the most part, it's a very strong, absorbing piece of work that should be applauded, despite some flaws (besides the ones above, we also found Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' score to be more conventional than their best work, and some of the supporting performances a little broad, particularly Garrett Dillahunt's Hannibal Lecter-ish turn). We also feel that, as with most literary adaptations, you'll enjoy it more if you're unfamiliar with the source material - our expectations were so high, and our love for McCarthy's prose so strong, that we'd probably have been disappointed in any circumstance.
The rest of the weekend holds the premiere of hotly tipped French film "Father of my Children," the British gangster flick "44 Inch Chest" and Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air," so reviews will be popping up for those in the next couple of days.
"A Single Man" - [A]
"The Road" - [B+]
Leighton Meester & Amber Heard Are 'Thelma & Lousie II' 'Cowboy Girls,' 'Beverly Hills Cop 4': Back To The Drawing Board
Man, it's a slow afternoon.
It's "Thelma & Louise II"? No, but the next best thing, "Cowboy Girls," starring younger, sluttier sexier versions of Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in Leighton Meester and Amber Heard. It's directed by Jess Manafort and yes, described as a "younger 'Thelma & Louise.' "
Is Vin Diesel out of "XXX3"? Do you really give a rat's ass?
Jessica Biel has revealed details about her "A-Team" character. Yeah, we're clearly interested in her character here. and the deep-seated psychological motivations that are surely behind every "acting" choice. Mmmm, hmmm.
Jonah Hill is going to have his own animated comedy on Fox. It's a story written with
Do you want to hear Devin from Chud talk about online ethics for two hours or do you want to self-euthanize? The choice seems fairly obvious if it's the only two options in life.
Andrea Arnold's Cannes' film bought by IFC, "Fish Tank" will open in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, January 15 2010. It will go wider after that.
'Ghostbusters 3' Hits Snags: Murray Feelin' Skeptical, Dan Aykroyd Says "No Green Light," Suggests Funding Is Scarce
There's been a flurry of "Ghostbusters 3" talk in the last week and it started out on a positive note, but has since somewhat fallen south.
The semi-good news started when Bloody Disgusting "reported" some sort of non-news (it's kind of a rambling, sloppy piece to be honest) in that original "Ghostbusters" and "Ghostbusters II" producer/director Ivan Reitman was "straight up confirmed, 100%, without a shadow of a doubt," to be involved in the project which wasn't a total shock (or even news) since he's been part of these discussions since they started last year. The story was also contradictory. Apparently he's "attached," to direct "Ghostbusters 3," but hasn't decided if he actually wants to helm the project or not. Uhhh. So he's really a placeholder for now. Presumably this means, he wants another script polish by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky ("Year One," "The Office"), because if he were completely dazzled, he'd just agree to take the job, no? We won't even get into their "script reveal," cause it'll basically insult your intelligence (they open up Ghosbusters shop again! No, really??)
Hope spring eternal for the nerd crowd, but the news was quickly dulled when Bill Murray spoke earlier this week and said he has yet to receive a script and seemed characteristically cynical. "I don't want to do it yet," he said in a red carpet interview with the U.K's AbsoluteRadio, presumably during "Fantastic Mr. Fox " press. "Until there's a really good script I'll stay home and play snooker. There has to be a serious script before I leave the house. I won't make one just to make another one."
Quality control. This is what we like to hear and we're glad Murray is redeeming himself with these salient thoughts cause the goofy cameo in "Zombieland," while fun, should have been a DVD extra and killed the momentum of the picture.
He's as skeptical as most discerning critics are and isn't holding his breath for the project to materialize. "I'll believe it when I see. I saw a guy talking about the end of the world a couple of years ago and I haven't seen that either. I'll believe it when I see a script." He was pretty candid about the sequel as well. "We made a second one, and it was okay, but it wasn't as good as the first one."
Youch. Making matters worse is even perennially chipper "Ghostbusters" cheerleader Dan Aykroyd who tried to lower expectations and also sounded skeptical and hesitant in a recent Toronto press junket for his father's new book, "A History of Ghosts." Our friends at HoundsTV were there and while Aykroyd said a script does exist, he said the project has no green light and suggested funding might be scarce at the moment.
"Obviously it's all talk until I get a production number," Aykroyd said adding with comedic emphasis that their production does not have one. "When I get one of those I'm in the picture business again, but until we get a green light, we can't stick a pipe into the mega-corporation and draw the honey." Thanks to HoundsTV for the exclusive photo of Aykroyd above courtesy of shot7.com.
Let well enough alone. Do we really need to see a "new generation" story with old guys as mentors? That idea is terrible, frankly.
In Theaters: 'Where The Wild Things Are,' 'Law Abiding Citizen,' 'New York, I Love You'
In Wide Release: It’s all about the kids this week as Spike Jonze's long-delayed, feverishly anticipated “Where The Wild Things Are” finally hits cinemas.
Though the $80 million plus (some estimates put the production with reshoots around $100 million) picture that's not necessarily for kids has been pegged to open at a modest $25 million.
Jonze brings the beloved Maurice Sendak book to the screen with the help of McSweeney guru Dave Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay. For those that had a deprived childhood, ‘Wild Things’ is the story of a rowdy boy Max, who, feeling neglected and misunderstood at home, escapes to where the Wild Things are. He then develops affection and understanding with the emotionally troubled creatures who decide to elect Max their leader. We posted our review yesterday, finding it to be a $100 million art movie that deserves to be adored. We're happy to see Warner Bros. take risks like this and feel very certain that it will pay off eventually. Young actor Max Records plays the lead alongside Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo and the voices of James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker and Chris Cooper. Yeah Yeah Yeah’s frontwoman Karen O handles the music alongside some very talented collaborators. You probably already have tickets for this, but if you're curious, Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie a 64% fresh rating while Metacritic scores it at 68.
Gerard Butler follows up last-month’s blink-and-you-missed-it “Gamer” with another actioner in “Law Abiding Citizen.” This time he is backed-up with a little more starpower as Jamie Foxx portrays a prosecutor who, in exchange for testifying against his accomplice, offers a criminal a lighter sentence. Problem is, they killed Butler’s family and the once kind and gentle family man is about to light a fire up everyone’s ass involved in the whole broken system of justice. The trailer looks ludicrous and the dialogue laughable, but this could be a dumb crowd-pleaser for the two leads, both of whom could use a hit at the box office. F. Gary Gray (“Friday,” The Negotiator”) directs the film, but the scores are pretty terrible. It sits currently 17% fresh film on RT with a score of 42 on Metacritic.
Also in wide release this weekend, low-budget horror flick “The Stepfather.” Sounds exactly like you’d expect: disgruntled teen returns home from military school to find her mother shacked up with a new man with a mysterious past. Dylan Walsh of “Nip/Tuck” fame plays the titular character with Sela Ward and Penn Badgley also starring. Probably not screening this one for critics as neither Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic have any reviews up yet which probably means it's the big turd that it smells like from afar.
In Limited Release: The blaxploitation tribute “Black Dynamite” directed by Scott Sanders opens today on around 70 screens. Michael Jai White stars as the bad mutha Black Dynamite who plots his revenge on “The Man” who murdered his brother, pumped heroin into orphanages and soaked the ghetto in malt liquor. We saw the movie earlier this week and found it cheeky and mostly clever, but the joke wore thin over the 90-minute running time. The film is 83% fresh at RT and has a 67 score from Metacritic.
Following up “Paris, Je T’Aime” is another city-based omnibus film, “New York, I Love You.” After the success of ‘Paris’ the creators have decided to amp up the starpower for this version with Allen Hughes, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, and Brett Ratner among the directors. If that wasn’t enough to get you in a seat, the cast includes Shia LaBeouf, Bradley Cooper, Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, and many, many more. We’re concerned about the production company’s cash-grab as they decide to expand this to a full-on series with multiple cities in the works. We've seen it and it proves to be predictably mediocre apart from a couple inspired moments, notably the Portman and Anthony Minghella-scripted segments. The film(s) have a 50% fresh rating from RT and a 57 score from Metacritic. Not a particularly inspiring rating.
Getting quite a bit of good buzz is Chilean film “The Maid” from director Sebastian Silva. Winner of multiple film festival awards including the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at Sundance, the film stars Catalina Saavedra as a maid trying to cement her status in a household after 23 years of service. We’re really looking forward to checking this one out soon. With rising economic prosperity, the Chilean film scene is one to watch in the future. “The Maid” is currently 100% fresh at RT and has an 87 score at Metacritic.
Also hitting in limited release this weekend: the always-great Alred Molina headlines “Little Traitor” from director Lynn Roth. Molina plays a British Sergent who engages in a friendship with a young boy growing up under British occupation in 1947 Palestine, just before Israel becomes a state. Reviews aren't great though: 17% fresh at RT and no score yet at Metacritic. John Leguizamo and Harvey Keitel star in “The Ministers,” a gritty NYC crime thriller that will probably be on the shelves at Blockbuster by the time you finish reading this. The Franc. Reyes directed film appears to have not been screened for critics yet.
If you're in New York, you'll want to make sure you catch the Eli Kazan retrospective at Film Forum that began last Friday, but kicks into its final two weeks this weekend. All the classics have been there, "East Of Eden," "On The Waterfront" (you've seen them plenty) and films that haven't played yet are touchstones like "Splendor In the Grass," with a young Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty, "A Streetcar Named Desire" (which you've presumably seen enough by now), the hard-to-see Marlon Brando as Mexican peasant revolutionary, "Viva Zapata!" with Anthony Quinn, the also-rare "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn," Andy Griffith's amazing performance in the fame-grubbing, "A Face In The Crowd," that also features the fetching jailbait debut of Lee Remnick (Patricia Neal is also oddly attractive in this one), and "Wild River" that features Remnick again and post-car accident ex-angel face Montgomery Cliff who soldiered on with a mangled face until he finally died in 1966 from years of substance abuse. This second phase of his career was famously dubbed the "longest suicide in Hollywood history" (poor guy).
'Green Lantern' Officially Not Going Down Under
The move was rumored and now confirmed, because of the poor economic dollar, Martin Campbell's "Green Lantern," film starring Ryan Reynolds has moved its production shoot out of Australia.
The fluctuating global economy is really wreaking havoc in planned productions of late. The Canadian dollar in the last two weeks surged to 97 cents off the American dollar which is already worrying upcoming productions and the Canadian government that has spent millions of dollars to lure lucrative American film productions to its lands (Australia's dollar is at 95 cents).
THR says the shoot will move to Mexico, the location the shoot was already originally rumored to be moving.
We'll whip out our old joke: Does this mean Sinestro, the villain of the film, could be played by Diego Luna? Kidding, it would be Gael Garcia Bernal, obviously.
Meanwhile, does anyone think it's strange that Campbell's "Edge Of Darkness" with Mel Gibson is coming out in January? No confidence from the studio or are they hoping for another "Taken." Q1 2010 will be a very interesting season this year. Normally it's dumping ground time, but due to the unexpected success of "Paul Blart" and the aforementioned Liam Neeson revenge thriller, Hollwyood is planting a few stakes in that ground ("Book of Eli," "Shutter Island") in hopes of coming up snake eyes again. Will be interesting to see if it works and that season becomes totally rethought.
Will These Guys Ever Win Oscars? Part III, The Under 35 Crowd
Jake Gyllenhaal (28)Nominated For: "Brokeback Mountain" – 2006 – Supporting
Why He’s a Contender: After more than proving himself with the feel-good film "October Sky" ('99) and the cult hit "Donnie Darko" ('01), Gyllenhaal hit the big time after receiving an Oscar nomination along with his late co-star/secret lover, Heath Ledger, for the infamous gay cowboy film, "Brokeback Mountain" ('05). Neither man went on to win the award, although Ledger received one posthumously for his role in "The Dark Knight" ('08). Whether or not Gyllenhaal can obtain one of his own, remains to be seen. His performance in "Jarhead" ('05) was overlooked in our opinion, much like the film itself, and later this year he co-stars in the family drama "Brothers" with Tobey Maguire. That film looks a little forced to us, but in a weak year might give either actor a chance.
Ryan Gosling (28)Nominated For: "Half Nelson" – 2007 – Leading
Why He’s a Contender: Ryan Gosling gained some critical attention early in his career playing a skin head, much like his Oscar nominated peers before him Edward Norton and Russell Crowe, in "The Believer" ('01). He continued playing troubled teens with the likes of "Murder by Numbers" ('02) and "The United States of Leland" ('03), until he was old enough to play a troubled adult, a drug addicted high school teacher, in "Half Nelson" ('06). That role earned him an Oscar nomination, and although some viewers found him to be equally impressive playing the title character in "Lars and the Real Girl" ('07) the following year, that performance apparently failed to register with the Academy. Recently, Gosling had landed the lead role in the new Peter Jackson drama, "The Lovely Bones," which comes out this December, but not long after shooting began, he was mysteriously fired and replaced by Mark Wahlberg with the director claiming Gosling was “too demanding.” Both parties denied this, but either way, he’s not in the film. So what’s next for the young actor? He does have a film called '"All Good Things" set for release in December, although we haven’t heard much about it, and rumor has it, Danny Boyle might be eyeing him for the lead in what could be his next project, the true-life tale of a mountain climber forced to cut off his own arm in order to survive.
Joaquin Phoenix (34)Nominated For: "Gladiator" – 2001 – Supporting
"Walk the Line" – 2006 – Leading
Why He’s a Contender: Let’s start at the end for this one and check on what’s on the horizon for Joaquin Phoenix shall we? Well unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you already know Phoenix announced his retirement from the film industry, and so far has stayed true to that decision. According to IMDB, he is not in any stage of production for any film what-so-ever, not counting Casey Affleck’s supposed documentary capturing his foray into hip hop. So we guess that sums up the question as to whether he’ll ever win an Oscar or not. But before all this foolishness began, Phoenix had been working on building quite a name for himself and a respectable body of work. From his sniveling turn as Commodus in "Gladiator" ('00), to a spot on imitation of Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" ('05). Phoenix’s last film, "Two Lovers" ('09), garnered some positive reviews that praised him, but probably won’t be remembered come Oscar time.
Casey Affleck (34)Nominated For: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" – 2008 – Supporting
Why He’s a Contender: Playing Ben Affleck’s kid brother in "Good Will Hunting" ('98) wasn’t much of a stretch for Casey Affleck, but regardless, he made an impression. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t land a decent role again until tackling the troubled title character in "Lonesome Jim" ('05), proving he has what it takes to carry a film. Finally in 2007, Affleck was cast in the role he was born to play, as the coward, Robert Ford, in "The Assassination of Jesse James." He was nothing short than perfect in the film, and it paid off with an Oscar nomination for supporting actor. If only it wasn’t for Javier Bardem, who was also perfect in "No Country for Old Men" ('08), we think Affleck would be an Oscar winner right now. He continued his hot streak starring in his brother’s directorial debut, "Gone Baby Gone," which was released less than a month after 'Jesse James,' and will be seen next in "The Killer Inside Me" ('10), playing a deputy sheriff who happens to be a psychotic murderer.
Leonardo DiCaprio (34)Nominated For: "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape" – 1994 – Supporting
"The Aviator" – 2005 – Leading
"Blood Diamond" – 2007 – Leading
Why He’s a Contender: After his stint on the TV show, “Growing Pains,” Leonardo DiCaprio made his leap into the film industry, and made a big splash. First starring in "This Boy’s Life" ('93), Leo held his own, squaring off against multi-Academy Award winner, Robert DeNiro. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he scored a supporting actor nomination the same year for playing a mentally challenged innocent in "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape" ('93) at only nineteen years old. He followed that performance up with an equally powerful one in "The Basketball Diaries" ('95) before going mainstream with "Romeo + Juliet" ('96) and "Titanic" ('97). A little bit later, Leo began his partnership with Martin Scorsese which proved a good combination, and landed him a second nom playing the mentally unstable mogul, Howard Hughes, in "The Aviator" ('04). We’ll go ahead and grant this is best performance thus far, and think he should’ve won instead of Jamie Foxx. He got another chance a short time later with "Blood Diamond" ('06), instead of "The Departed" ('06), and we agree it was the right choice though still not potent enough to win. He was snubbed last year, failing to get nominated for "Revolutionary Road" ('08), and with the recent announcement his next Scorsese collaboration, "Shutter Island," won’t make it out this year like originally planned, he’s got nothing to show for 2009. Also next year, be sure to watch out for "Inception," his teaming with Chris Nolan, which should be nothing less than astounding. Mark our words, Leo will have an Oscar not too long from now. It’s only a matter of time. — Jonathan Helm
Ryan Reynolds Goes 'Tootsie'; Coppola Prepping New Film?
- Well, at least the guy knows how to strike when the iron's hot. Having finally broken through as a movie star over the summer with "The Proposal," Ryan Reynolds hasn't wasted any time, attaching himself to indie thriller "Buried," superhero adventure "The Green Lantern" and, only last week, the actioner "Motorcade." Now, he's set to star in an untitled comedy written by hot writer Allan Loeb (the upcoming "Wall Street" sequel), about a guy who disguises himself as a woman in order to win over his ex-girlfriend. Sigh. The pitch sold for high six figures (the third big sale of the week, breaking recent trends) to Working Title, who collaborated with Reynolds on the actually-pretty-good "Definitely Maybe."
- High concept comedies are clearly back in vogue (because "The Invention of Lying" was clearly such a critical and commercial smash...) -- Warner Bros have picked up a script by Melisa Wallack (the Aaron Eckhart vehicle "Bill") entitled "Dancing With Myself," for Oscar-winning short director Ari Sandel. The story focuses on a workaholic family man, an archetype we just don't see enough of in this kind of movie, who is hypnotized to help him quit smoking, and ends up with a compulsion to dance any time he hears music. If they cast Robin Williams, we're going to seal ourselves in a cabin with nothing but Criterion Collection Blu-Rays, and wait for the end of days.
- CHUD reports that Francis Ford Coppola is in Turkey, scouting locations for his next movie. He's been there for ten days, and will reportedly hold a press conference announcing the project on Monday. Devin rightly assumes that this means Coppola will be taking on Turkish subject matter, but we guess we'll hear shortly. The movie's likely to be another small-scale indie, like the recent "Youth Without Youth" and "Tetro."
- "The Blair Witch Project" star Joshua Leonard, who finally reappeared after almost a decade in the wilderness with the excellent "Humpday," and the HBO series "Hung," will make his directorial debut with an adaptation of a short story by T.C. Boyle entitled "The Lie," about a man wbo fibs to escape work, and changes his life. Leonard will play the lead, alongside Jane Adams ("Hung"), Kelli Garner ("Thumbsucker"), and his co-writers on the project, Jess Weixler ("Teeth") and Mark Webber ("Scott Pilgrim"). We like everyone involved here, and Boyle's an interesting writer -- we'll keep an eye on this. 
- Writer Will Fetters, who is behind the Robert Pattinson-starrer "Remember Me," and the possible Beyonce-led remake of "A Star Is Born", will adapt the non-fiction bestseller "Crazy for the Storm", by Norman Ollestad. The story, a memoir, tells of Ollestad's complicated relationship with his father, who pushed his child into various extreme sports. When he was 11, the pair's plane crashed in the San Gabriel Mountains, kiling the father, and forcing Ollestad to use the skills his father taught him to survive. Well, it's hard to deny that that's pretty great material...
- Boyfriend-du-jour Chris Messina ("Vicky Christina Barcelona," "Julie & Julia") is taking the lead role in "Devil," a horror movie based on an original story by M Night Shyamalan, and directed by the Dowdle Brothers ("Quarantine"). The movie's the first of the "Night Chronicles," a new imprint for the "Sixth Sense" director which will produce one genre film a year for the next three. Messina will play a "sobered-up homicide detective."
LFF '09 Review: 'The Men Who Stare At Goats'
George Clooney is the man of the London Film Festival, clearly —
his "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was the opening gala last night, and we're seeing "Up in the Air" at the weekend. In between, tonight in fact, is the big European premiere of "The Men Who Stare At Goats." One of our writers caught it at Toronto, and while we have a few more reservations they did, it's an enormously satisfying comedy, with a relaxed A-list cast clearly enjoying themselves, and mostly producing some of their best work in years.
Keen to prove his masculinity after being dumped by his wife, journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) heads off to Iraq at the outbreak of war there, and meets the mysterious Lyn Cassidy (Clooney), who claims to have been part of a secret government program to train psychic soldiers. Together, they head into the desert on a mission, the objective of which is as-yet-unknown to Renton. The script, by "How To Lose Friends and Alienate People" writer Peter Straughan, is a little heavy on voiceover (we know there's plenty of exposition to impart, but there must be a more elegant way to do it?), but otherwise very strong, condensing Jon Ronson's book into a narrative extremely well, and stacking the film with genuinely hilarious moments. The film's only 90 minutes, and it flies by.
Most surprising, perhaps, is a very strong anchoring performance from Ewan McGregor: we can't remember the last time we enjoyed him in a movie, but as Bob Wilton, he gives a charming, naive performance, with probably his best-ever American accent. Kevin Spacey, too, seems alive for the first time in years as the villain of the piece, giving extra dimensions to a rather thinly written role, but also turning on the silly when needed - his character is a former science fiction novelist, and there's one scene this informs which pretty much had us spluttering Diet Coke out our noses. Clooney and Jeff Bridges are both typically great, both giving terribly sad undertones to their otherwise rib-tickling performances, although there are moments where Clooney comes a little close to his wild eyed Coen Bros idiot characters, but literally only for a couple of shots. The supporting cast are great too, particularly Stephen Lang, "Parks and Recreation"'s Nick Offerman and a terrific one-scene cameo from Robert Patrick.
If there's a principle flaw, it's that the direction of Grant Heslov (Clooney's frequent collaborator, and co-writer on "Good Night and Good Luck") feels a little lacking in confidence — he judges the tone well, but occasionally the framing and cutting hampers the jokes slightly, and in the hands of a truly great filmmaker, it could have been a classic. But it's a great debut from Heslov, and we're sure he'll come on with his next film. Like all comedy, it's subjective, but it hit us in exactly the right spot, and if you're a fan of the Coens, Mike Judge or Altman's "M*A*S*H" (which the last act feels particularly inspired by), you should be there as soon as it opens on November 6th. [B+]
'Everything Must Go' For Will Ferrell
It placed high on the 2008 Black List, and is evidently Carson 'ScriptShadow' Reeves' favorite script of all time, but Raymond Carver adaptation "Everything Must Go" has been moving pretty slowly towards production. Until today, that is, with the news from Variety that Will Ferrell has signed to play the lead. Based on Carver's story "Why Don't You Dance," it centers on a man who, when thrown out of his house by his wife, starts to live on the front lawn, trying to sell his possessions.
It's set to be directed by commercials director, and the film's screenwriter, Dan Rush, who wrote the script on spec as a showcase for his directing skills, and is being funded independently, on a $10 million budget, via Temple Hill Productions, who are behind the "Twilight" series. This is a tiny project for the start.
It's good to see Ferrell branching out a little bit -- while we love the brilliant stupidity of "Anchorman" and "Step Brothers," some of his other comedies can be pretty terrible ("Semi-Pro," "Blades of Glory"), but he gave an admirably straight-ish performance in "Stranger Than Fiction" (even if the film itself wasn't so-so at best). Reeves seems, well, a little concerned at the casting, but we'll keep the faith for the moment, at least until we have a proper look at the script. Variety says that Rush met with several leading men, so if the director's picked him, that's got to count for something, right?
How Will Ruben Fleischer Follow Up 'Zombieland'?
"Zombieland" has proven to be that rare thing, a (relatively) low budget genre picture that is now beloved by both critics and audiences - only "District 9" has had a better reaction this year. Director Ruben Fleischer, a former assistant to Miguel Artera ("The Good Girl"), who moved on to music videos for the likes of Dizzee Rascal and M.I.A, is now hotly sought after in town, and has been linked to a series of projects.
The first film he was attached to, pre-"Zombieland," was "Psycho Funky Chimp," a coming-of-age movie about a teenager who acquires a rare Pez dispenser — this script has been around for ages and was actually written by "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" writer Michael Bacall and was once a project that Todd Phillips was once attached to. That seems to have stalled, however, and he's now loosely attached to a pair of movies. First is "The Bachelorette," a self-described female version of "The Hangover," from terrible producer Neal Moritz, which is currently seeking new writers. The other project is a Will Ferrell/Adam McKay produced movie called "Daddy's Home," set to star Ferrell as a divorced man who returns to his family, causing friction with his wife's uptight new husband (likely to be played by Ed Helms).
Less likely, but both possible, are the Jonah Hill-scribed reboot of "21 Jump Street," and "Neighborhood Watch," a 20th Century Fox movie about a man who discovers a conspiracy when he moves to suburbia, which originally had Ferrell and David Dobkin ("Wedding Crashers") attached. Both Fleischer and Rob Letterman, director of "Monsters Vs. Aliens" and the forthcoming "Gulliver's Travels," are on the list for this one
None of these sound particularly promising, but maybe Fleischer can bring the freshness of his debut feature to these otherwise generic-sounding studio comedies. They could be at least amusing, escapist fun. "Zombieland," was decent, but not Brecht either. We imagine that the inevitable "Zombieland 2" will want Fleischer on board too, so we'll see what he ends up signing on the dotted line for.
10/15/2009
Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline and Alexis Bledel Join Redford's 'Conspirator,' Plus More Set Photos & Video
Robert Redford is amassing an all star cast for his latest directorial effort.
This morning we exclusively revealed that Evan Rachel Wood and up and coming British actor Toby Kebbell ("Control," "RocknRolla") joined James McAvoy, Justin Long and Robin Wright Penn in Redford's "The Conspirator" a period drama based on true events following the assassination of President Lincoln.
Now Variety has thrown down and responded, confirmed our news about Wood's participation and added that Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline and Alexis Bledel have all joined the film (they don't seem to know that Kebbell is in, but it's true).
We already laid out who plays who in our last report, so we won't regurge here, but Variety says Kline plays 
More photos from the set have surfaced here and here.
The story centers on Mary Surratt (Wright Penn), the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth (Kebbell) who relies on her reluctant lawyer and ex-war hero (McAvoy) to uncover the truth and save her life.
Some recent video from the shoot has found it's way online that gives us another glimpse of McAvoy and a brief shot of Wood. Some of it is cornball local reports which are kind of amusing.
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