Cannes continues, for everyone except Lars von Trier that is. And yes I'm going to briefly mention that elephant in the room before moving onto the real film news. Seriously what do the Cannes bigwigs think they're doing and what they're going to achieve. Lars von Trier has always been a joker, with every film he makes you know he's courting for controversy, desperate to chase the headlines from the festival. The critics seemed to like Melancholia and not find it headline grabbing other than it's quality so of course they had to bait him in the press conference and of course he positively glowed when he started on the Nazi comments, knowing the effect that would have. The Committee should have just told him off whilst ensuring they are aware it was poor taste humour not a real political diatribe. Why not watch it here and let me know what you think:
And now onto the real news...
Byzantium
Vampires remain inexplicably popular right now, largely due to the Twilight franchise, although that doesn't seem to explain why so many non-teenage projects are getting the green light and basically picking up middling box office receipts. Never mind because the latest project coming out of the blocks will a mother/daughter vampire tale starring Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton (they're both fine actresses and worth the ticket price but surely the age difference isn't enough, although the synopsis includes the suggestion they sometimes pretend to be sisters). The script, an original piece by Moira Buffini (Jane Eyre), has caught the attention of experience vampire filmmaker Neil Jordan (remember the faintly unsettling Interview with the Vampire) and producer Stephen Wooley. With that group of talent involved it's hard to resist even when the genre is so overdone.
Here is Kirsten Dunst in Neil Jordan's last foray into the world of Vampires, which is lovely as it links nicely to Lars above, and if Jordan can get performances as good as he gets from Kiki that Byzantium will definitely be one to watch.
Read on for Martial Arts competitions, fairy tale private eyes, evil step mothers, treks from Egypt, Court intrigues, Cold war meetings, school buses and Audrey Tatou as well as a minor casting story. 
Bloodsport
Certainly the most bizarre story to come out of Hollywood this week is the proposed remake of the 1988 Jean-Claude van Damme martial arts vehicle (left). Essentially a disaster on release the win or death knockout adventure gained a whole new lease of life on DVD, emerging as a cult favourite for the van Damme nuts out there. It's hard to imagine this sort of bruiser hero taking the box office lead today either, even after The Expendables proved there's still a market for pumped up leads. That said I am fascinated by whoever will want this potential albatross around the neck of their career.
The Defective Detective
Can Terry Gilliam catch a break in the fickle world of film financing? With The Man who Killed Don Quixote spiralling once more into the history of abandoned projects there's been little news from the former Python. Never one to let it get him down Terry's hinted that he may return to a Richard LaGravenese script they worked on around The Fisher King and 12 Monkeys and which never gathered the necessary funding. The story is curiously close to the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus following a detective on the hunt for a missing girl in a fantasy world. If it has the same manic energy and resourceful plotting as those other films from that period then I will certainly be booking a ticket should it ever gets made!
Maleficent/Moses
This week saw the high profile departure of Tim Burton from Disney's live action origin story for Melficent, the evil step-mother from Sleeping Beauty (right), which is set to star Angelina Jolie. There doesn't seem to be a big fight with blame and recrimination about the tone or content or directorial vision just a run of the mill scheduling issue. It's partly a shame because I'd love to see Burton handling a villain front and centre, although maybe the studio would constrain him too much and keeping it firmly in the PG wheelhouse. So the potential replacements are being discussed on the net with David Yates (Harry Potter) currently the favourite, but Darren Aronofsky also being linked by Badass Digest - I suspect it's bunkum, if we consider Burton as being held back in his relationship with Disney then surely Aronofsky would be ever more so. They also say Warner Bros. are interested in recruiting him for the upcoming Exodus picture which might be more interesting form an audience point of view but isn't he more concerned with the earlier Biblical story, that of Noah and his Ark?
Music and Silence
Danish director Lone Scherfig will be returning to her roots with the latest literary adaptation she's taking on. Set in the 17th Century Danish court the story charts an illicit romance between two servants, one of whom works for the noble King Christian IV, the other for his philandering wife. The script is being written by Martin Sherman, based on Rose Tremain novel, with BBC films stumping up the cash.
Reykjavik
Every once in a while a high profile director known for big cast, big budget movies takes on an unlikely character pieces. Ron Howard did it a couple of years ago with the powerful Frost/Nixon and now, jumping a few Presidents into the future, Ridley Scott will be helming a reconstruction of the head to head between Reagan and Gorbachev that paved the way for the end of the cold war - that's them on the left but I'm not sure of the location. Ridley has already got a massively overcrowded slate but this could be a quickie to be filmed in between the more complex productions he's currently working on including the single film adaptation of the excellent Red Riding trilogy that he's been mentioned with again this week.
The We and The I/Untitled Michel Gondry/Audrey Tatou collaboration
Visionary director Michel Gondry is currently serving on the short film Jury in Cannes and has been chatting to the New York Times about all the projects hanging around on his plate. Next up is The We and the I which appears to to be inspired by his previous Be Kind Rewind and features a child only cast on a school bus, seems slight but it could be interesting. On the new film front he's been courting Audrey Tatou - for a French language picture - by making short films and animations or her. Obviously I'm holding back the vomit as I type, but at least the combo of Tatou and Gondry seems like it could be worth a look.
Casting News
I'm always fascinated when additional cast members, especially quite famous ones, appear in the press releases after the camera has started rolling - have there been drop outs, were their agents not ballsy enough to force a comment on their casting? - who knows. Anyway Stanley Tucci and Cloris Leachman have both been added to the cast of the Coen brothers scripted Gambit. Just when you thought Christopher Nolan's third Batman film The Dark Knight Rises couldn't possibly pick up more characters stand by for Matthew Modine, Tom Conti and Joey King joining in - so at least we now know Modine is still alive.
Obviously I couldn't mention The Dark Knight Rises without having the first publicity shot released, showing Tom Hardy in full Bane look. One picture down, 14 months to go:
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Do the Can(nes)-Can('t) (Film News - 21/05/11)
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Film News (31/10/2009)
I may have mentioned that I've been on tour and not been able to get to a computer recently. Or at least not enough to be able to read up on the news and report back. I am therefore writing this in the middle of half term with over three pages of notes regarding news stories that have come and gone over the last month and a half. I'm binning all updates on stories we've already reported on and just looking at the completely original incidents. With no further ado let's get on...
Gucci Biopic
There are few families from the 20th century which seem to be ripped out of a soap opera more than the fashion giants Gucci. There have been boardroom fist fights, celebrity hangers on, tax evasion claims and even murder. It's such a mad story it's going to need a barmy cast to bring it off... Anjelina Jolie as Patrizia Reggiano and Leonardo DiCaprio as her superflous husband Maurizio Gucci. Never mind the Dallas picture bring on the Gucci's.
Shoes are apparently not related to this post in any way...
American Rust
Described as a modern retelling of the underclass stories written by John Steinbeck in the pre-war years American Rust concerns two agricultural workers who leave their home town to find better jobs only to be caught in a maelstrom of violence and misunderstanding. Walter Salles has signed on to direct.
The Fly
I won't link to the 1986 version of the classic sci-fi about a scientist finding his DNA altered irreperably. Although perhaps I should because although there have rumours about a remake David Cronenberg has publicly stated that he will be behind the camera for any remakes. With advances in technology over the last 25 years the body horror elements will almost certainly be digusting beyond belief.
It's a Kind of Funny Story
Apparently it's a well-loved young adult story by Ned Vizzini about a suicidal teenager checking into an adult mental health facility. I don't know if the book is any good but I love the concept, and with Viola Davis signing up for a pivotal role you can count me in.
Melancholia
Lars von Trier is fed up with making deep arthouse pictures that divide audiences, so he's decided to make a blockbuster - a sci-fi disaster movie no less. Early plot details indicate another planet collides with the Earth. Don't expect a happy ending.
My Fair Lady
I love the original My Fair Lady, as a kid I was sat in front of it on almost every visit to my Grandparents. As such it is with trepidation that I approach the remake with Keira Knightly. The good news is that Emma Thompson is working on a script, which could make it very humourous. In unlikely casting Daniel Craig is being mooted for Henry Higgins.
Red Riding
To recap David Pearce wrote a quadrilogy of novels about corruption in the Yorkshire police forces during the late 70's and early 80's. Looking at the investigation into some teenagers murdered against the rise and fall of the trade unions. This was made into a TV miniseries, which was released in the states as 3 films - can anyone verify this, please? It looks like Columbia and Scott Free entertainment have picked it up to create one big movie. Could be a horrible mess.
Robert Capa Biopic
Michael Mann will be returning to the biopic arena for his next film, by looking at the famed photographer Robert Capa. The film wil focus on his early romances during the Spanish Civil War, so expect plenty of opportunity for Mann's sound editors to shine.
Securitas Robbery picture
Here in the UK we're just coming to the end of reports about the Tonbridge Securitas robbery. In essence it's a common story where the robbers kidnap the managers family and use that a leverage to get into the bank or, in this case depot. Only this time it's the largest haul in a robbery of all time with over 50m sterling taken. To make the story even more bizarre the ring leaders were mostly high profile cage fighters. It hasn't taken long for the studios to take an interest and I'm sure they're be parts for Danny Dyer in it.
X-Movies
The future of the X-Men franchise rumbles on. Like many of you I refused to cough up a fiver to see Wolverine, however lots of people did so expect a second installement of that offshoot as well as individual films for Magneto and Deadpool. Pruducer Lauren Schuler-Donner has also blurted out that we're likely to see an X-Men early years movie, like a mutant One Tree Hill. Can't wait? Personally I think the whole X franchise may have had it's day but we'll see. At what point do falling returns mean you stop production...
Box Office News
Release Date News
Taking Woodstock - Making November slightly easier to manage Ang Lee's 1960s set homocomedy has been moved back a week. Trip out with the flower generation on 13 November 2009.
The Girlfriend Experience - Steven Soderbergh's lo-fi experiment about the escort industry has slipped back another week into December. You can see the trailer this week. Pay over the odds on 04 December 2009.
The Boys are Back - Clive Owen's Oscar bid, based on Simon Carr's true story will still be showing in January next year but it is now a dirrent week. Learn to say yes on 22 January 2010.
Dear John - If the idea of watching a Nicolas Saprks novel adapted by Lasse Hallstrom makes you gag then you should seriously consider taking May as holiday. On the other hand we see an awful lot of Channing Tatum in the trailer. Write a love letter to Channing on 07 May 2010.
The Green Hornet - I'm hoping this is the last time Michel Gondry's comic book tome will be shifted back as the talent involved really intrigues me. Crime fight using a mysterious identity on 31 December 2010.
Untitled James L. Brooks Movie - It may be called How do you Know, it might not, but Brooks' return to the silver screen with Reese Witherspoon and lucky charm Jack Nicholson has chosen a prime date for the 2010 Oscar season. Have two men fight over you on 14 January 2011.
Straw Dogs - Two months ago I was concerned that the release date for Rod Lurie's retelling of the classic revenge thriller had disappeared into the ether, well it's back. Execute your wife's rapists on 11 March 2011.
Rango - It's not often I get interested in animated movies, however this reunites the Pirates trilogy director Gore Verbinski with star Johnny Depp. Plus it's about dogs. Fetch a bone on 08 April 2011.
Town Creek - They shifted it back further and further until ti completed disappeared. I can't say I'm sorry that I probably won't see the latest film from Joel Schumacher, but I'll keep an eye out in case it makes a limited release before it's inevitable appearance in DVD bargain bins.
Box Office Report
August and September both minor shocks in the top of the box office statistics, with a horror sequel conquering August and a South African actioners the champ in September. Although with the general lack of quality around in the late summer perhaps these two were positioned well.
August
1. The Final Destination
2. The Proposal
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. The Time Traveler's Wife
5. Aliens in the Attic
September
1. District 9
2. Fame
3. Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs
4. (500) Days of Summer
5. Surrogates
I thought I'd end this post with a picture of a prawn. Well done for persevering.
