Film News (01/05/2010)

Can you believe it's May already?

I can't - this years going awfully quickly. In this weeks news we've got two stories that relate to Brad Pitt, two that relate to Ron Howard and one that may relate to two films. But none of these are really enough to make me salivate in longing for these films. Saying that there are some new productions kicking off that I didn't pick up on - many of which may just be the ticket.

The Hatfields and The McCoys

First Brad rumour of the week is his potential return to the Western with this adaptation of the infamous family feuds in Kentucky/West Virginia following the close of the American Civil War. The feud, which lasted some 30 years, led to many deaths in both families and an unlikely romance in the younger generation and the whole story takes in desertion, corruption, boot-legging and pigs. If this sounds more like a TV soap, you're right, as it was first translated to the small screen in the mid 1970's. Although the feuding families concept has been a backdrop in many classic Westerns, including The Big Country.

Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) is set to direct with Robert Duvall confirmed in a supporting role.
The Hatfield's pose for thefamily protrait.

Read on for tattoo's, Aliens, cheating spouses and the beam...


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Sticking with Mr. Pitt he's also been linked this week with David Fincher's remake of the Swedish hit drama, along with Carey Mulligan. I'll be honest I have nothing against Carey's casting - alhough you would be forgiven for thinking she's just a little too well known - but Brad is just wrong for the rol of the middle-aged journo played by Michael Nyqvist in the original. The part is meant to be a pretty ordinary guy just investigating a murder, he's no-one that you'd take a second look at if you saw him in the street. With Brad playing this role you would be totally unsurprised that all of the women in the film are throwing themselves at him.

Alien Prequel

On the press junkets for Robin Hood Ridley Scott been letting out snippets about his next project - the prequel to the Alien movies. Surprising no-one he's told us that it'll be in 3D (yawn!) and that it will focus on the space jockey glimpsed in the first film. There may also be some references to the company, and how it knows about the Alien before the Nostromo picks it up. What is interesting is that Scott plans to make two prequels, although right now he's focussing on the first.

Cheaters

Formerly Your Cheating Heart, the Vince Vaughn/Ron Hward collaboration has just picked up Jennifer Connelly to play Vince Vaughns wife. With both of them obsessing over whether to tell Kevin James his wife is cheating. In the right hands this could be really funny (imagine classic Woody Allen) but somehow I've got the feeling this will just about be average.

The Dark Tower

There have been rumours for years that Stephen King's masterpiece will make to a screen foramt, although these rumours usually begin and end with a TV miniseries. It is, after all, a dense piece of work; lasting 7 novels and poking it's head into almost all of King's works that involve a supernatural presence. The latest story is the rights have been picked up by Brian Grazer with a view for a Ron Howard directed, Akiva Goldsmith penned big screen version of the first novel (The Gunslinger) and then a TV follow up to bring together the rest of the elements. This may be a good idea for marketing reasons. The Gunslinger is a significantly easier option to start with, largely avoiding the metaphysical detours the later novels enjoy, and if done well it will create a fanbase who will turn to the TV for the next installment.

Ron's also had some success with adapting King's The Green Mile (no mean feat based on the appalling films that have characterised his novels), and that too was originally a number of books strung together. We'll have to wait and see hos this pans out.

Production News

I've been trawling through imdb again looking for new films that have appeared in pre-production to see if I've got a vague interest in them. Many of these I've already mentioned in the news stories, but there's a few that have completely missed me.

The titles that have been covered include the Steven Soderbergh quickie, filmed in Australia whilst rehearsing for a play with Cate Blanchett. It's been called The Last Time I saw Michael Gregg and oddly is creditted as being in Japanese. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn is up there wih it's new director Bill Condon. Sarah Polley's cheating drama Take this Waltz is back on tracks, as is the Abigail Breslin vehicle Dear Eleanor, which was thought to have disappeared, as was Sam Raimi's Warcraft. Footloose and The Girl with the Red Riding Hood were both mentioned in the last couple of news posts. Scream 4 looks like it's definitely coming - we've had some plot details leaked this week too. And finally casting has begun on the big screen version fo Jack Karouac's On the Road - it's a tricky property to adapt but it'll certainly be worth seeing.

But what else (sounding better as they go along):

Conduct Unbecoming - Not many details around, but I'm hoping it's a remake of the 1975 British Army in India film about an Officer who assaults the widow of a fallen colleague, and the resultant trial.

Little Red Wagon - David Anspaugh adds another project to his slate with this story of a young boy becoming an advocate for the homeless. Anyone know what's happened to Chris Brown vehicle Phenom or the basketball tragedy 4Chosen also on his list of things to do?

Games they Play - Sounding just a little like a more violent retread of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe this two hander follows a romantic(?) dinner between a wife who enjoys emotional torment and a husband who has decided murder is the best way to end it.

The Danish Girl - OK, so the Nicole Kidman starrer about the worlds first transgender operation, performed inside a loving stable heterosexual relationship, has been kicking about for a while. But it is pickingup steam so I thought I ought to mention it.

The Eye of the Storm - if you think there simply aren't enough films about the moral dilemmas in the right to die discussions then this Australian drama with Judy Davis, Geoffrey Rush and Charlotte Rampling is definitely going to be worth watching. Hit and miss director Fred Schepisi takes the helm.