All eyes are on the Academy this week, from the moment Brett Ratner faux pas'd at a Tower Heist Q&A last Friday night the knives were out for the Oscar Producer. And probably for the best, whilst we can all appreciate the context of the comment and the vocabulary Ratner uses in interviews generally that his intention wasn't to denigrate gay men as a demographic, however the insensitivity of such an off-the-cuff remake is not in keeping of the man steering the gayest night of the Entertainment industry. As Ratner fell, so did his front man Eddie Murphy, in a career move that may be yet another turning point for the once reliable star. AMPAS then swung into damage limitation mode, quickly appointing Brian Grazer and Billy Crystal (ignoring the online campaign for the Muppets to host, hence the title) a reliable if safe choice. I suppose I should care for all this hoohar, but to be honest I don't watch the show. Of course I won't deny the Academy impacts my viewing habits, occasionally bringing a movie to my attention that I hadn't considered, but the night itself doesn't appeal. Time will tell what this will do to Ratner and Murphy's career however I suspect it will all blow over very quickly.
Moving on to the real news though.
Rule #1
At first, before reading the synopsis, I was really keen on the potential pairing of Frozen River director Courtney Hunt with Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon in a comedy, after all there aren't enough high profile films from women (of course part of that is my own inherent prejudice) and Reese is one of the best comedic performers of her generation.
Then the plot: According to THR, Witherspoon will play “34 -year old woman trying to cope with OCD, who takes in a young woman with ADD and her newborn baby in an effort to face her anxieties and ultimately get her estranged husband back. The resulting effort takes the woman’s already chaotic world spinning into the next level.”
So this is a comedy when OCD meets ADD. Whilst that does have slight thematic similarities to The Odd Couple however once the characters are labelled with mental health diagnoses it seems to be making the illness the butt of the joke rather than the interplay, of course that may change when Hunt revises the script and it ends up on screen, but I do have concerns. 
Witherspoon gave one of the most hilarious and convincing comedic performances in the noughties for Legally Blonde and it would be great to see her back in the genre.
Read on for equal rights legislation, dating thrillers, a strip of pebbles and a non-comic comic book.
Airtight/Untitled Prop. 8 Movie
You should learn something new everyday, and this week its the turn of avuncular New Yorker Rob Reiner to reveal a facet of his character that surprised and taught me. You see Reiner is one of Hollywood's leading advocates of gay rights, founder of the American Foundation of Equal Rights he is a major supporter of the campaign against Proposition 8, so much so when the legal challenges eventually end in their logical conclusion (and as a gay man I pretty much have to say the plebiscite will be overturned, even if its by the Supreme Court) he plans to dramatize the fight. It's will no doubt be a worthy court-room drama in the vein of his 96 race crime elegy Ghosts of Mississippi and whilst I am in favour of bringing this story to the multiplexes I can't help but think there's a more interesting personal story to be told about how the vote illegitimised relationships and what effect that has on them and their close families.
By the way Airtight is a heist film he's also knocking around as a possible next project - purely because he has never done one before. No details yet, but we'll have to keep an eye on it.
The Double Hour
More remakes of European thriller, this time an Italian original (maybe the rights are being sold to save the economy) which started like a rom-com with a speed-dating leading to a one-night stand leading to a kidnapping and terrible secrets held by the cop and cleaner protagonists coming out to haunt them. Joshua Marston has been tapped to direct, which will make an odd English language change of pace for him.
On Chesil Beach
I know there are fans of Ian McEwans sparse internal novel, even though I personally wasn't engaged and think it's intensely un-cinematic, however I thought I'd pass on the news that the big-screen version hasn't died when proposed director Sam Mendes left for Bond, instead the baton has been passed to Mike Newell. Unfortunately whilst Newell's a nice guy with talent I think it's fair to say he's anonymous behind a camera and I suspect that McEwan's work needs someone flashier to bring out the tension.
Wilson
Just a reiteration of Alexander Payne's desire to adapt Daniel (Ghost World) Clowes' graphic novel. I confess to not being a reader of these books, having a barely concealed prejudice against the format, but Clowes is considered as one of the greats, able to create a fully rounded story within a three panel format, so I'll certainly follow this to see how it works on screen.
Casting News
The latest bizarre casting rumour to hit the web attaches Colin Firth to Spike Lee's OldBoy remake, as the chief antagonist to Josh Brolins wrongfully imprisoned revenge seeker. Not that I doubt Firth's ability in the role, but it is pretty left field a suggestion you have to admit.
There's a small campaign (which will no doubt be crushed before the end of the year) for Colin in the Supporting Actor field for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which conveniently brings us back to Oscar and the opening paragraph.
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Rehearsing is for Frogs - (Film News - 12/11/11)
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Seeing the film news from Space (Film News - 27/08/11)
I'm feeling a little smug right now, mainly because of the first news story. I won't go into it just yet but it proves a theory I put forth several months ago and justifies some expenditure I have made over the last few weeks - in spite of the gentle ribbing I received from my friends. Away from that there have been some nice little stories hanging around under the headlines, and thriller fans will be keen on a couple of the upcoming films. Until then time to stay smug.
The Great Wall
Back in April I wrote about the growing movie market in China and how we should expect to see more collaborations between Hollywood and the Chinese film Industry. Indeed at the time the Yang Guifei movie was cited as a specific example.
Now we've moved and Ed Zwick who has local form with The Last Samurai and will now be heading to Northern China to document the history of the world's most famous piece of masonry.
The oldest sections of The Wall was originally built around the 5th Century BC although it's the Ming dynasty's work in the 14th century AD that is most recognizable. Like most walls it's purpose is mainly defensive, keeping the Monguls from conquering vast swathes of the Northern Provinces. The exact period the film will cover has yet to be decided but expect the Ming Dynasty when the majority of work was done to be the central topic.
The most interesting part of the story though is that this is the first film from Legendary East, the historic spin-off company from Legendary Films, spearheaded by Thomas Tull, that will produce and finance films made in China and Hong Kong with international investors. As I said before this year is marking a major change in the worldwide dominance of Hollywood, and it will take this sort of thinking to keep the studios on top.
If you've lived under a rock your entire life here's a picture of the Great Wall of China.
Read on for FBI love affairs, mysterious cargo, soul singers and a trip to Germany, as well as the latest in casting news and a rundown on the changes to UK release dates over the last month.
Above Suspicion
Our first thriller of the week is this appallingly titled project which sees an FBI agent falling for an informer and getting framed for a murder. Sounds awfully unoriginal but Philip Noyce (left) is potentially behind the camera for this one and with his form on other silly cop films like last years Salt and The Bone Collector it could still end up being a lot of fun.
Line of Sight
Perhaps boasting a more bizarre plot will make this second genre pic look more intriguing, however it's title is just as bland and uninteresting as the the above. Ben Affleck is considering this tale of "an elite commando squad transporting cargo whilst dealing with a global threat". Which has just enough undefined nouns to make the by-line meaningless. So it the cargo a nuclear bomb of a truck of stuffed toys, is the threat neo-fascist terrorists or childhood obesity rates. We'll just have to wait and see!
Untitled Aretha Franklin Biopic
Aretha Franklin (69, right) has been talking up the possibility of her biopic getting made (which frankly smacks of being a touch self-centred to me) including the suggestion that Halle Berry would be the best person to take the role. I'm not going to make disparaging personal comments (feel free to make them in the comments) but Franklin and Berry are hardly similar in body shape are they?
Untitled Woody Allen picture
We don't have much on Woody Allen's next European postcard, other than early indications are he's moving on to Munich for his next picture. Munich's most famous cultural event is of course Oktoberfest (the beer festival) which will hopefully get a cameo in Allen's film, although I suspect it will spend more time in the upper middle class pastimes of looking at the delightful neoclassical architecture.
The last time I can remember Oktoberfest in cinema!
Casting News
Two stories directly relating to cast lists this week, the easier one is the revelation that Chazz Palminteri has signed on to play Paul Castellano in Mafia family drama Gotti: In the Shadow of my Father, oddly though this isn't the first time he's played Castellano having taken the role in TNT's TV movie Boss of Bosses 10 years ago. Perhaps more exciting is Christian Bale's (looking thoughtful in the picture below) upcoming slate, this week it was revealed he has five wildly divergent projects vying for his signature after the next Batman movie. The options include Scott Cooper's Out of the Furnace (Formerly Known as The Low Dweller), Gold, Noah, Oldboy and - most bizarrely - A Star is Born. Mind you when you look at this list there's still a trend of highly driven and obsessive characters which goes to prove even t this level there's type-casting.
Release Schedules
Machine Gun Preacher - The biker cum missionary biopic has shifted it's release date another couple of weeks, each time coming forward which obviously indicates the films at least ready and the producers want it to be seen early in the awards season, so I guess I'll have to do that. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition on 04 November 2011.
J. Edgar - Talking of biopics one of the most anticipated in that much maligned genre is Clint Eastwoods look at the infamous head of the FBI - with Dustin Lance Black scripting it's going to be fascinating how the film balances old and new Hollywood attitudes to Hoover's sexuality. Get obsessed with communists on 20 January 2012.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Hollywood still remains surprisingly coy about directly addressing 9/11, and the few that have looked at the aftermath have come across as maudlin, so maybe this Stephen Daldry directed drama from a child's eye perspective may buck the trend. Notice the event but struggle with it's meaning on 03 February 2012.
Odd Life of Timothy Green - Over the last month we've seen the trailer, poster and, at Disney's recent convention, and the buzz has been as strange as the concept with the family friendly fantasy being lambasted for it's weird vibe. Bury your wishes in the garden on 17 August 2012.
World War Z - The zombie apocalypse will be coming soon, by the end of next year we'll be recovering with Brad Pitt talking to the survivors finding out what really happened in those dark days. Begin the fight back against the shuffling hordes on 04 January 2013.
Bad news though for some other films I had high hopes for. Release dates for both The Dark Tower and The Lone Ranger has both come and gone, just another step for both of those projects on the road to complete abandonment. The football rom-com Playing the Field might be looking at a similar fate with it's March release being pulled, however at least the Gerard Butler vehicle has been made. That's something that Nikita Mikhalkov must be content with too with the knowledge his Burnt by The Sun 2 (sequel to the 1994 Oscar winner) has gone straight to DVD in the UK - perhaps avoiding the wrath of critics who've been queueing up to vent their vitriol.
In spite of how rubbish the films reception seems to have been there's no denying the retro look of this poster really works.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
The scribblings of a genius (Film News - 16/07/11)
It's been another weak week for film news with only a couple of projects catching my eye, the first of which won't be see for at least another couple of years. I'm not completely sure why this is - are all the execs on Holiday right now? No need to dally though lets get right into:
In the Hand of Dante
We heard this week that Johnny Depp has found a director for the big screen adaptation of Nick Tosches' head scratching novel in the form of Julian Schnabel. Intertwining fictional and autobiographical accounts of the lives of Tosche, Dante and a mobster named Louis the novel focuses on a manuscript of The Divine Comedy that may or may not be the original version.
It sounds to me like a more literary version of Adaptation so I can't wait to see how the characters intersect and what direction the plot unfolds in. The pyjama wearing auteur has said the book is about everything which may not be strictly accurate but at least gives an idea of how ambitious the project will be.
Unfortunately this is a long way off being made, in a statement Schnabel said nothings been signed and Johnny just wants him to look at it and develop it over the next couple of years. I don't know but it sounds like Depp wants to have something interesting to dig out of his schedules at some point in the far off future (and not now when he's hopelessly busy with box office stinkers). Not that Schnabel has anything to worry about, after their brief but memorable collaboration on Before Night Falls (Depp plays a transvestite smuggler - below - in the 2000 Reinaldo Arenas biopic) I suspect they're both itching to get together again.
Read on for a sequel 20 years out of date and a round up of this weeks casting news.
Red Hook Summer
Appearing seemingly out of nowhere and only really a tweet and some investigative journalism is the news that Spike Lee is making a semi-sequel to his seminal 1989 movie Do the Right Thing (see poster below). It's a sequel in that he will return as the character of Mookie but not continuing the plot, although like the original movie the action will take place over a long hot summer. Obviously Lee decided to make a quick joint before seriously starting pre-production on his Old Boy remake, and I for one am far more interested in what he has to say with this.
Casting News
We may not have seen much excitement in the new films section of this weeks news, but at least the casting section sees plenty to write home about. The most interesting story was hearing Joaquin Pheonix is attached to the forthcoming Spike Jonze and Andy Kaufman collaboration. This is great news as it means Pheonix's career has somehow survived his I'm Still Here stunt and we also picked up the movie will be a political satire concerning world leaders planning future crises - sounds intriguing. Edward Norton is being considered for bad guy duties in The Bourne Legacy, the eclectic cast of He Loves Me is getting more interesting with Elliott Gould, Antonio Banderas and Steve Coogan signing on in support and further to last week Josh Brolin is being consider for the Old Boy remake.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Nothing to see here (Film news - 09/07/11)
Why do I bother, eh? I've been checking the news all week and virtually nothing of any interest whatsoever has happened. No really, it's been hopeless. I've had to feed on the scraps of one recycled story and a casting that makes no commercial sense. You would've thought the studios would get together and decide what to release each week to keep film goers like myself tuning in for those exciting snippets of news. As it is I feel like just not bothering looking at the news next week. Harumph...
Old Boy
There has been occasional discussions about an English language remake of Chan-wook Park's 2003 Korean Revenge masterpiece for some time, but over the last few days it re-surfaced with Spike Lee the latest director attached to the project, allegedly working from a script by Mark "I am Legend" Protosevich. There's no news yet on whether Will Smith, who was originally attached to the remake back in 2008, will be returning to the project but with a basically free schedule (after MIB3 and before his M. Night Shyamalan vehicle) and given the chance to work with a firebrand like Lee I can only imagine he'll jump at the chance.
Squid auditions will no doubt be called soon.
Read on for naff all bar an unlikely casting call.
Casting News
And on to the one and only casting rumour, that Danny Boyle is considering Colin Firth and Scarlett Johannson for his latest crime flick Trance. My concern here is from memory the art-heist concept isn't a million miles away from the con-artists after old master plot of Gambit currently filming in London with Colin Firth. Isn't there an issue with the roles being too similar or am I remembering the plots incorrectly?
Friday, 25 September 2009
Will Smith
Happy Birthday to
Will Smith
41 today
Oddly this photo just jumped out at me. Big Willy (heh heh) is probably the most bankable star in Hollywood, his last 10 cinematic releases took an average just shy of $160m, but right now he's taking time off with the family. IMDB have 25 projects in developement, with only Spielberg's Old Boy in the pre-production phase. On the off chance it does get made I'm in there.
