Film News (05/06/10)

There's been a (middle) earth shattering piece of news this week which has certainly dominated the headlines of the websites I usually catch up my gossip from, so I'll be starting with that and what it may mean, but after the jump you'll see it wasn't the only thing that happened. Although I'll confess none of the other film stories have been quite as interesting.

The Hobbit

Guillermo Del Toro, the visionary director of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy, has stood down from the Lord of the Rings prequel. In a statement posted on the fansite The One Ring Guillermo starts with "In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life. After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures."

Naturally I feel for the choice that Guillermo has had to make, but I fully respect his decision and his artistic and personal integrity remains intact. Obviously it seems that the continued delays and financial problems within MGM will have long reaching consequences. First Bond falls and now the planned 2012 film will almost certainly see protracted delays. The question now is who will step up to direct, with so much work already have been done which director will be able to handle such a massive enterprise yet still be able to put their own stamp on the property. The obvious choice, writer and producer Peter Jackson, has stated he would direct the film if no-one else will but he also has a contracted Tintin movie in his schedule and I'm not sure that "alright, I'll do it" attitude is what's needed for the project.


This is a hobbit hole, an already envisioned by Peter Jackson and WETA, note whoever takes on the project most of the designs will already be done.

It's not, by the way, a story that I necessarily believe needs telling (and it certainly doesn't need to be split over 2 movies) but I won't deny I will be queueing up for tickets if it ever makes it to cinemas whoever has been behind the camera.

Read on for Brits on holiday, buddy comedy re runs, a virginal couple learning what it all means, a hip hop biopic, the latest productions to get underway according to IMDb and we say goodbye to a very special counter-culture icon.



Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Can you imagine a film that brings together British acting icons like Peter O'Toole, Judi Dench, Julie Christie and Tom Wilkinson then throws them all together in a Nursing home on the other side of the World? That's the premise of Fox Searchlight latest development, based on the novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach. When an entrepreneurial Bangalore resident, set to be played by Dev Patel, opens a hotel for elderly Brits to spend their last years in - sounds a touch like Empire nostalgia but I'll let that pass - he gets more than he bargained for. Expect the residents and staff alike to make friends, overcome prejudices and learn valuable lessons about life and death.

Midnight Run 2

In the loose genre of mismatched buddy comedies one of the highlights is 1988's comic gem Midnight Run. A sequel has been on the cards for some time, but this week we came the closest we have done so far to hearing Charles Grodin, the originals mob accountant on the run, will be joining Robert De Niro in it. I hope so. I'm not sure the concept would work without both of the main parties, and it needs to work to get the foul taste of the last Bounty Hunter comedy out of our mouths..

On Chesil Beach

With the critical and commercial film success of Ian McEwen's novels Enduring Love and Atonement it's a wonder Hollywood hasn't jumped all over his back catalogue. Maybe it starts here with Sam Mendes announcing his intention to film On Chesil Beach, McEwen's novel (left) about a pair of repressed virgins trying and failing to make love for the first time in 1960's Britain. I'm not sure where the novel goes with that, Amazon warns of doubts and recriminations, but it will certainly be an interesting counterpoint to Mendes' Revolutionary Road.

Tupac

Did you think that 2009's Notorious, the biopic of East Coast rapper Notorious B.I.G, came short on the feud between rival labels that left him and Tupac Shakur both dead? Well prepare to be disappointed again as Tupac's side of the relationship in under covered in his biopic. I could be wrong but I imagine that whilst this may be the most intriguing part of their careers the writes and producers will feel it's mud that's best not scrapped.

Dennis Hopper

This week we learnt of the unsurprising but still shocking passing of one of cinema's most prolific and out-spoken talents. As an actor he was forthright and showy stealing scenes from much bigger stars and he was an amazingly accomplished photographer and painter, but it's as a director that I will remember him most. In 1969, with the release of the seminal Easy Rider, he brought the counter culture into the mainstream acknowledging it's upcoming failures and single-handedly changed the American Indie Movie making scene forever. Without Hopper paving the way we would not have the variety and accessibility of cinema we have today and for that we truly salute his achievements.


Dennis Hopper, 1936-2010

Production News

I've been peeking on IMDb again, trying to see what new pictures have stepped up a gear in production. I have to say it is a bit of a losing battle as for every new film I want to see we do lose a couple, maybe they're cancelled or postponed or drift straight to DVD, but I dare say some of these movies listed below will make it to a cinema near you.

This month has seen production start on a large number of projects I've already highlighted in the news section. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, with it's continuous stream of casting rumours (Daniel Craig being the latest); Jane Fonda's latest comeback movie Peace, Love and Understanding; Lone Schefig's One Day; fish out of water satire Salmon Fishing in the Yemen; biopics of Marilyn Monroe (Blonde) and Sam Childers (Machine Gun Preacher); portmanteau movie Shanghai, I Love You; two polar opposite sci-fi properties Paani, about a future with no water, and Keanu Reeves getting lonely in space for Passengers; and Pedro Almodovar's horror film The Skin I Live In.

As usual though there are a few films that have sneaked into production with me knowing absolutely nothing about them. It's rare that I would consider these ones to be good - after all there's probably a reason the studios aren't advertising - but there's certainly a lot of fun trying to work out how bad they're going to be.

Toad Trip - live action fairytales are suddenly popular with Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood and Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Killer leading the way so it seems plausible that a Frog Prince would be greenlit. Although you'd have thought this would be too close to the same ground that was covered in Disney's The Princess and the Frog, and that punny title really has to go.

El Lector - indie director Victor Nunez cranks out a film every few years that's warmly received, his most famous being 1997's Ulee's Gold which earned Peter Fonda a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. His last was Spoken Word, starring Kuno Becker as a street poet, which disappeared without trace following it's debut at the Toronto film Festival. Nevertheless I'm still keen to see his latest work, the title of which translates to The Reader, and may relate to monastic orders.

No Man's Land - it's probably a bit harsh putting Sam Raimi's most recent picture in this section, but I really can't remember seeing any details about it before. It looks like it might be a remake of countless movies about people in a waiting room between death and the next life. As a concept it could be as intellectually challenging as Sartre's No Exit or as pulpy as a Hammer horror - with Raimi I'm hoping for the former and expecting the latter.


I doubt this picture, which comes up when you search for God's waiting room on Google, is relevant, but I do like it with thanks to the source.