The most bizarre thing about this weeks news is that most of the stories I'm going with I wasn't planning on using. Honestly I read several things on the net this week and thought well I'll use that if it's quiet, and it has been a little slow but we've obviously had worse weeks, however I'm sticking with all those optional stories, mainly because I can't really decide which ones to throw out. So please enjoy this slightly extended post and don't forget to scroll ahead for the monthly production updates.
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
That fascinating title is enough to make me want to know more about Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer's bestselling novel based on the Channel Islands. Framed much like 84 Charing Cross Road the book is a series of letters between Juliet, a single 30-something author in post-war London and the extra-ordinary members of the titular club who write to her, recounting their experiences and personal struggles during the German occupation of the island.
It's a fascinating concept that will need an awful lot of work to make it visually interesting, although I expect once a flashback structure is created the letter writing element will be virtually lost, and charged with adapting the novel is Don Happy Endings Roos which certainly gives an idea of the ensemble style and nature of the piece.
The final piece in the jigsaw is director Kenneth Branagh who's currently shopping around for his next project now he's turned down Thor 2. More of a Peter's Friends than Henry V this does sound like it might be out of his comfort zone, but we were all surprised by what he brought to Thor so I have high hopes for how this literary package will turn out.
Shame the book cover (above) is so blatantly chick-lit I can't actually buy it and read it on the commute to work!
Read on for shark revenge fantasies, a candlestick in the library, money shots and boom boxes. As well as news from the Academy, some casting titbits and a run down of the latest stories featured here which might actually get made!
Bait
Bret Easton Ellis, of American Psycho fame, has been trying to get this odd revenge movie off the ground for some time, but with the news that Paul Schrader has signed on to direct we may see it sooner than we think. It's an ugly sounding piece, no surprise there, which concerns a waiter beaten by his rich spoilt clients who enacts his vengeance by forcing them to swim in shark infested waters. Sounds like a prototype Bond villain and I'm not completely sure plans like that would actually work but with Ellis' penchant for underlining the banality of evil this could become a cult hit.
Clue
It's hard to believe but the bubble may have burst on the game-to-movie adaptations after only the trailer for Battleship following the news this week that Universal have dropped plans to remake the classic murder mystery game. The good news is that Hasbro have rescued the Gore Verbinski helmed pic (possibly to be his next after The Lone Ranger next year) so it's still on the cards. This seems like a strange decision as it's probably the easiest and cheapest of the proposed mini-genre to make, even has the proven track record with the 80's comedy (which I love, btw). I can totally see Verbinski's best mate Johnny Depp in a Wadsworth type role too - played by Tim Curry in the original on the left.
Nymphomaniac
Lars von Trier is at it again, not content with the on-going Cannes related Melancholia controversy, and in a brave attempt to deflect from his connection to the Utoeya massacre, he's announced that two versions of his next film, a woman's sexual history told over a number of varied encounters, will have two versions. A soft and hard core version. Oh, Lars, if you just want to make porn, just go ahead and make porn. No need to dress it up as art.
Say Anything... 2
Now the headline that accompanied the story on Empireonline was "Cameron Crowe Talks Say Anything Sequel", which for the sake of Journalistic integrity is technically true, however when you look at it in context, it is certainly misleading. During a 45 minutes Television critics association interview about his Pearl Jam documentary Crowe was specifically asked, without provocation, if he had considered a sequel to his 1989 cult hit which led to the answer "Say Anything... is the only thing that I've written that I would consider doing that with. And I've thought about it from time to time, and talked about it with John Cusack once. This is the only story that I've thought there might be another chapter to that at some point." Which is like someone asking me if I'd like to play Iago at the RSC and then reporting that I'm considering playing Iago for the RSC. Nonsense!
Cusack really wants you to hear our song, in an image that everyone remembers.
Governor's Special Academy Awards
Congratulations to the latest recipients of the Academy Awards special awards, James Earl Jones, Dick Smith and (for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award) Oprah Winfrey. The quality work the three of them have done is undeniable. Earl Jones is probably best remembered for his voice work, including Darth Vadar (left) and Mustafa in The Lion King (which I will certainly be watching again to celebrate) but he's also an incredible stage actor - his triumph in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in London last year was legendary - and has been Oscar nominated for boxing drama The Great White Hope. Smith's make-up effects have been a staple for horror fans and Dramatic movies throughout the 70's and 80's, responsible for work as varied as The Exorcist, The Godfather, Amadeus and Death Becomes Her. Oprah may be the most famous woman on the planet and her not-inconsiderable charitable work has included setting up a girl's school in South Africa and giving $10m in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. All three thoroughly deserve this recognition from the Academy.
Casting News
Surprisingly little going on in casting rumours, Nick Nolte is set to join Jason Statham's latest punchfest Parker, further proof of his strange ability to mix junk with high-brow fare (see his recent link with Robert Redford). We've also heard that Leonardo DiCaprio has obviously been bitten by the Western Genre bug as he may be following up Tarantino's Django Unchained with Creed of Violence for Todd Field, based in 1910, from the Boston Teran novel it follows to unlikely partners trying to infiltrate a arms smuggling ring.
Production News
I've been peeking at IMDb again, and the latest collection of new films entering into the pre-production phase is a delightful mish mash of genres and styles. They include Russian period epic Anna Karenina, Mormom murder expose Under the Banner of Heaven, GP biopic Rush (can't wait for that one), Katherine Bigelow's currently untitled Bin Laden/Seal 6 picture, Comedy remake The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Spike Lee joint Red Hook Summer (already filming would you believe), biopic of Scandinavian boxer Bosse Hogberg with Noomi Rapace as the singer he falls for and curious sci-fi Under the Skin which I've just finished reading and it's going to be fascinating to see how Jonathan Glazer adapts it. And those are just the ones I've already mentioned on previous news blogs. The following two films also appeared with no forewarning:
Foolproof
It's been a long time since Uma Thurman starred in a bona fide hit so it comes as no surprise to see her sign on to this eighties throwback of a project. She'll play a defence lawyer who's lover (a DNA specialist who may have just discovered a cure for her daughter's genetic disease) is a chief suspect in a murder. If that doesn't sound like a twist on Jagged Edge than I don't know what does, should be fun though.
Truckers
In spite of selling over 65 million books it's surprising how few of Terry Prachett's novels have been adapted for the screen, sure there's been a steady selection of TV mini-series but nothing for the cinemas. Until 2013 when we will see an animated version of the first part of his Bromeliad trilogy, focusing on a tribe of Nomes (an extra-terrestrial tiny people living amongst humans, illustrated in the cover art below). It's not a Discworld novel which will at least make it more accessible to non Pranchett devotees but may limit the possibility of franchise material. Have to keep our eyes out for more news on this. 
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Reading, Writing and Swapping Vegetables (Film News - 06/08/11)
Monday, 27 December 2010
Pink Elephants on Parade (Film News - 25/12/10)
So, that title could be in relation to the Christmas period and the inevitable slide into alcoholic stupour that often accompanies it. I know I may have had one or two too many over the last few days, and I very much hope all of you did also. Alternatively it could be related to this weeks top story. By the way news is pretty thin on the ground at the moment, oddly enough Hollywood gets a few days off the party too, so there isn't much to write about. There are some schedule changes mind, and I done a look at production news so the week isn't completely wasted.
Our Wild Life
The only new project I've heard about in the last 7 days is this conservation related piece that may be enticing Philip Noyce away from the Salt sequel. It's a biopic about Dame Daphne Sheldrick who campaigned her entire life for the protection and conservation of African elephants, including perfecting the formula and husbandry for raising milk dependent baby elephants and rhinos, indeed it's difficult to understate her impact on these endagered species.
Here is Daphne, more can be found on her work at http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/index.asp
The film itself has had a somewhat rocky road to here (and it's surprising I didn't know about it), first Nick Cassavetes was attached to direct, but following his script revision he was promptly fired by New Line who then approached Walter Salles. Since then Salles (who had interested Julia Roberts in the role) has bailed leaving Noyce to potentially pick up the pieces. No news yet on casting but apparently Kate Winslet is ineterested. More on this as soon as I know.
Read on for wandering cowboys, unsung pop stars and another wild creature.
The Dark Tower
The enigmatic lead of Stephen King's most complex piece, Deschain, is currently being cast for the upcoming Ron Howard/Akiva Goldsmith film and TV adaptation. It's a part that will require an extreme amount of charisma through very little wordplay or even action, as the man is more of a cypher than an actual fully realised being. Potential names being bandied about include Viggo Mortensen (the fan favourite but probably too old for the role), Jon Hamm (more likely), Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. Whoever they choose I wish the actor who takes on the task all the luck in the world with this potential poisoned chalice.
Release Schedules
A few changes for the next couple of months:
It's a Kind of Funny Story - I'd already let the cat out of the bag for the shift of this nuthouse set comedy - a teen Cuckoo's Nest, if you will - when the trailer was slipped in a couple of Tuesday's ago. Check yourself in for a bounce against the walls on 07 January 2011.
True Grit - It's had an exception first weekend in the States and looks set to become the highest grossing Western since Unforgiven yet it's dropped back a month to get away from other calibre competition over here. Persue your father's killer on 11 February 2011.
Melancholia - I needed a summer picture, there's very little on the blockbuster front really doing it for me next year, thank heaven for Lars von Trier and his little end of the world movie without a happy ending. Don't expect "them" to save you on 01 July 2011.
One Day - Lone Shefig's follow up to An Education, based on the novel by David Nicholls, is another ill advised romance this time with two university students who sort of fall in love over a period of twenty years. Find your soul mate on 30 September 2011.
Moneyball - The troubled baseball picture (check back over it's last minute collapse and rehabilitation) is set to bring the game back to the forefront of cinematic sports, shame it's about the manager using a PC. Use a computer to pick the best seats on 04 November 2011.
It's not all good news, though. Gus van Sant's Restless has been postponed but without a new release date (or at least without one this side of the Atlantic) and Joel Schumacher's Twelve has gone directly to DVD, which could actually turn out to be a blessed relief to cinemagoers.
Production News
Remember I do this so you don't have to is the motto for this section of the News, once a month (although it's usually rarer than that) I trawl through imdb looking at the stories that piqued my interest to see if they've gone into production and if so update here. Occasionally I come across something else you might like this way, but first the updates:
Clint Eastwood's FBI supremo biopic is back on with Leonardo DiCaprio set to star as the eponymous J. Edgar, talking of resurrected projects the release of MGM from bankrupt status means Bond 23 is back on the cards. Kathryn Bigelow's Triple Frontier about the drugs trade is underway although I expect the 2011 date may be rather optimistic. Tim Burton is prepping for a Dark Shadows shoot in the new year, Steven Soderbergh is showing confidence that Michael Douglas will beat the cancer as the Liberace movie is a close as it's ever been, Andrew Dominik's Cogan's Trade has bumped up his schedule - expect to see his Marilyn Monroe movie to vanish altogether. Revenge dramas The Jesuit, Savages, Creed of Violence and Forgiveness of Blood all look to be coming over the next couple of years, all of which you can look up more details using the post labels below, except for Forgiveness which is Joshua Marston's Albanian picture. Finally expect a Trap for Cinderella, the young adult picture from Iain Softley, in 2012.
Two new film titles also managed to grab my attention:
Zebras
Not a continuation of the earlier conservation in the serengeti theme we touched upon with Our Wild Life this is inspired by The World Cup and concerns a South African football team taht come out of nowhere to become big league players. Bizarrely Ryan Kwanten of "True Blood" fame is rumoured to take the lead.
Blondie: The Florence Ballard Story
If ever I discussed afilm that was likely to end up as a TV movie it was this, even the title screams Tuesday afternoon. It will focus on Florence Ballard (no s**t) and her brief career with soul sensations The Supremes before her ill-timed exit from the group. Can anyone tell me if Florence (below) is the inspiration for Effie White?
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Film News (06/06/09)
Theres a trio writer directors making the headlines this week. Um, and a couple of other stories that I can't fit into a single witty headline.
How do you Know
Writer-director James L. Brooks has recruited his old buddy Jack Nicholson to join the supporting cast of this Reese Witherspoon vehicle set to start lensing next month. Nicholson's replacing the notoriously diffident Bill Murray, who forgot to checks hi messages, or something. Jack has won 2 Oscars whilst working for Brooks in the past, so hopefully there'll be some good things coming. The film only has How do you Know as a working title, but I prefer that to the untitled blah blah blah...
When Jack and James last worked together they made the world fall in love with Helen Hunt, and this yappy dog.
Creed of Violence
Writer-Director Todd Field (I'm determined to make that link work) has been hired as a writer to adapt Boston Teran's latest novel (it's due to be published later this year). Field only usually writes when he's going to direct as well, so I can almost get away with the opening words. Plot revolves around a desperado and a Government agent halting an arms smuggling operation in 1910.
Hamlet
It's been a couple of years since the last Hamlet adaptation, so we're due another. This time brought to the 21st century and starring an "age-appropriate" Emile Hirsch. I've seen some snark about this project, but I'm sure Hirsch has the acting chops to be able to carry the role. His work in Into the Wild was incredible, and Hamlet's similar just with an even weirder family.
Invictus
Kris Tapley over at Incontention had the scoop on the title for Eastwood's Mandela biopic, so I'll just link to that. The title comes from a poam by William Earnest Henley, that was a favourite of Mandela's during his time in prison.
Next Three Days
Yesterday the French Film Anything for Her came out in the UK, so this week the US remake has been announced. Writer-Director Paul Haggis (we're back with that ridiculous link) will be finding ways to make a film with little commercial appeal, yet strangely award magnety.
The French Film Poster.
