Some body count (Out this week - 21/09/12)

At first I was going to write about the sudden dramatic change in tone between the generally upbeat lite-comedy of last weekend and the thumping visceral action heavy output of this weekend.  But then I stopped to think whether that was really true and of course it's not.  It's just the films that appeal to me have changed.  It's a quirk of the scheduling that meant last weekend we have Meryl Streep and Woody Allen and now it's Brad Pitt and Oliver Stone.  So with a zero body count from 7 days ago I'm about to head to cinemas with the sure knowledge that will be crushed.  I'm thinking over 30 corpses between the two top films.  With the Runs like a Gay film of the week Killing Them Softly

There are lies, damned lies and statistics.  So said Mark Twain in his autobiography.  So bearing that in mind I'm calling last weekend's box office prediction a success.  What?  But RLAG said it would be ParaNorman yet any idiot with a Guardian can see it's The Sweeney claiming the crown.  Yes, true, but Nick Love's gritty crime flick (you see there were some last week) only squeezes into pole if you take into account two days of previews, an advantage the zombie tackling stop-motion didn't have, take that out and Laika studios are the clear winners.  Take that Regan and Carter, hooray for the misunderstood kid.  There are two action flicks competing this weekend, both with similar screen counts, but I think the shorter running time and generally better reviews will enable Killing Them Softly to edge ahead, making it the first time in ages the film of the week is also predicted as box office champ.

Killing Them Softly

It is generally agreed that Andrew Dominik's last movie, the intense balletic Jesse James film, is a modern masterpiece.  So all eyes were on his follow up at Cannes earlier in the year.  It comes as no surprise that the adaptation of George V. Higgins' pulp 70's novel hasn't quite reached the standards of his previous film, but it seems punchy and didactic and should still be an exciting and unmissable film event.

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Read on for drug cartels out of control, a special tool for ladies, more buildings you shouldn't go into and every trailer for films released this weekend.



There's a hint of Dominik's assured work behind the camera and this could be another knock out performance from Brad Pitt.  Honestly how could you resist?

Savages

Never a film maker renowned for his subtlety it looks like Oliver Stone has temporarily dropped the champagne socialism for a balls to the wall drug cartel action flick, featuring every Hispanic actor you know and a few up and coming white stars as the heroes this does seem to promise suitable amounts of mayhem and violence.

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Hysteria

Prepare for everything you though you knew about the sex life of Victorians to be wrong as you enter into the strange beginnings of the vibrators.  First produced and marketed as a medical aid to calm hysterical woman this fun period drama (more like Carry on Merchant Ivory) sees the patriarchal doctors, led by Jonathan Pryce telling the women what's best for their ailments whilst Maggie Gyllenhaal's proto-feminist is keen to tell him it's only about pleasure.

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Heroine


It's a Bollywood movie about Bollywood, centering around a star trying to stay at the top of her game.  I'm not sure whether casting massive star Kareena Kapoor in the leading role will help, but it's warts and all look inside the Inidan movie business is bound to gets bums on seats so we can expect this to slip into the fringes of the top ten this weekend.

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House at the end of the Street

I can't claim to have learnt that much advice for living from trips to the multiplex.  Sure I've picked up some stuff about history, but for every moral there's another film that subverts it.  Except in the case of horror where it is the perceived wisdom that if a serial killing once took place in a house then it's best to just get the fuck out of there.  I don't think Elisabeth Shue and Jennifer Lawrence are quite as cine-literate as I am.

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Inbred

Yorkshire based horror which sees a bunch of delinquents from London off on a field trip with their right-on carers only to find it'a particularly grim up north when the locals fancy a bit of torture the newbies.  A friend of mine from Yorkshire pointed the trailer out to me months ago and got all flustered about the regional stereotyping.  It gets an extra blob just for that.

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Now is Good

It's Love Story meets The Bucket List as Dakota Fanning goes all Cancer won't defeat me in this young adult weepie.  I hear it hits all the marks for the teenage target audience and the solid presence of Paddy Considine and Olivia Williams will have the adults in tears too.

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Tower Block

The vagaries of production times and release dates means we get the second James Moran script in a few weeks and whilst this doesn't have the enjoyable tone of Cockneys vs Zombies there's still a notable tension in this mysterious sniper in the council estate thriller.  Nice cast of TV names too.

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Untouchable

It's broken box office records in it's native France and proved to be an enormous crowd pleasing success across Europe and America, so it'll be interesting to see how this dramedy about a quadriplegic millionaire Francois Cluzet and the former thug he hires to care for him Omar Sy does in the UK.  If you ask me the tone is a little difficult to pin down, with it's nauseating "we all have disabilities" theme.  Maybe I'm just too cynical.

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You are God

Polish flick with a a tiny release window.  Telling the true story of Eastern European rap outfit Paktofonika and their tragic fron man Magik.  I imagine this is a movie playing very much to it's core audience, but if you're interested in the history of rap and how it's been taken up across the globe this should be worth catching.

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How to Make Love to a Woman

If you do want to see this instructional comedy, in the vein of a marginally less bawdy American Pie, then you've already missed your chance as it hung around in a limited number of cinemas during week nights only.  Still it won't be long before it appears in a bargain bin near you.

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The Prophet

I wanted to give this odd documentary more blobs but I honestly couldn't justify it, however the almost performance reading aspects - Thandie Newton voice overs extracts from Kahil Gibran's cult guide to living - whilst Gary Tarn finds some notable and exquisitely related things to film.  This is more art than art-house and almost certainly deserves checking out if you're able to do so.

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Salma Hayek

Happy Birthday to

Salma Hayek

45 today

There's no denying that Salma Hayek's career is at least in part based on her obvious sex appeal. Sure she's a great actress too, but let's face it without the snake dance in From Dusk to Dawn there never would have been an oscar nominated performance in Frida. The next project for the Mexican bombshell is Oliver Stone's Savages where she'll power walk her way through the drug cartels, see the picture for an idea of how it works.

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Will he or won't he (Film News - 23/04/11)

Not exactly an exciting week for cinema stories, I guess the proximity to Easter/Passover and other spring based breaks has meant progress in the studios has been slow. That said I did here about a couple of new projects they may just make fascinating films in the years to come, or might just be my chace to ogle at muscly men.

Parker

Like Jason Statham for instance. Who is set to star for Taylor Hackford (??!!) in this big screen spin-off of Donald E. Westlake's series of novels. I say spin-off as the film will only use the central character (the eponymous burglar) as a starting point and will create it's own plot.

Parker himself seems like the type of rugged hero Statham was born to play, he is described as never stealing from those who need it - although quite how this will be shown in the movie remains to be seen - and he never kills. Unless he has to. So expect a high body count, and maybe he'll give some chage to a charity collector.

The main question of course is whether he'll find an excuse to rip off his shirt Transporter style. I'm guessing there's at least one scene where he shows off his stunning body (cue body)



and tries to prove he isn't gay by sleeping with an underwritten female character.

Read on for industrialists, mid-air heroics and the usual update of casting stories.



Aristotle O

The recent "Kennedys" series may have underwhelmed critically and commercially but it has renewed interest somewhat in that particular political dynasty and it's various connections, which ma go somewhere to explaining why an Aristotle Onassis (left) biopic is being planned by Branlio Mantovani and Fernando Meirelles (the writer and director combination of City of God). The Greek shipping tycoon famously wooed Jackie Kennedy following the assasination of JFK. Robert Lindsay has played Aristotle to great acclaim on the London stage over the last year, however I suspect any big screen adaptation will go for bigger names in the main roles.

Flight

Licking his wounds after the disasterous box-office performance of the 3D motion capture Mars Needs Moms and the consequent cancellation of Yellow Submarine producer Robert Zemeckis is preparing to return to live-action with this dramedy about the aftermath of a plane crash. Denzel Washington (who is currently in negotiations) will play the pilot of a passenger jet forced to make an emergency landing in part due to him being incapacitated on drink and/or drugs. Hailed as a hero in the headlines the film will focus on whether he admits to what happened or goes along with that. Sounds like a slight spin on Accidental Hero but with Zemeckis there to make the opening scenes exciting and a potential powerful performance of guilt and remorse from Washington (baring in mind he's been coasting in action movies for at least 5 years) this could be one to watch.

Casting News

It's been all go on the casting front. Ian Holm has been confirmed as Old Bilbo in The Hobbit, therefore proving there will be a section where Bilbo is old... And to my surprise (and believe me I'm feeling a little contrite about what I said in the past) Jeremy Renner will definitely be the Bourne substitute in The Bourne Legacy. Oliver Stone's Savages has picked up a impresive array of supporting players with John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Emile Hirsch entering the fray. Ralph Fiennes may be the Magwich we'll looking for in Great Expectations and finally Sam Raimi and the "studios" are squaring off about casting a minor role in Oz, the Great and Powerful - he wants Hilary Swank, they want Michelle Williams - given the role is for an elder witch I would pass over both of them and use an actress in her fifties, after all there are loads of them.

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Shadows of a giant (Film News - 26/03/11)

Whatever you were doing this week, whatever our connection to the entertainment business it probably didn't take long to hear about the long-expected but nevertheless shocking news that Elizabeth Taylor passed away. Whilst she isn't the last remaining icon of her time (Lauren Bacall and Olivia de Havilland immediately spring to mind) it's fair to say Liz, her talent, her marriages and her penchant for jewellery shone brighter than most. She'll be terribly missed, so it's only appropriate that the story I'm leading with this week relates to her:

Cleopatra

Anjelina Jolie's attempts to take the role of Egypt's most famous queen look to be back on track with David Fincher becoming the next big name director attached to the project (remember James Cameron was listed at one point). It's a performance that will inevitable provide a centrepiece of Anjelina's career and will lead to comparisons with Liz Taylor and the 1963 extravaganza that may make or break her going forward. One hopes it won't sink anyone around the production - making desert Kingdoms has destroyed studios on a number of occasions.


The toughest act to follow.

Of course this latest rumour is dependent on what Fincher's decides his next project will be. He's already prepping 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and it's possible he'll want to follow up the forthcoming Steig Larsson adaptation The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with The Girl who Kicked it's Hornet's Nest it's literary sequel.

Read on for little known history, frightening sex and the return of Arnie? As well as the latest casting stories and this months round up of release schedule changes.



Hyde Park on Hudson

The King's Speech has opened the floodgates to early 20th Century British Royalty related movies with this chronicle of the first state visit to the United States and the complex marital stresses Franklin D. Roosevelt (left) was having at the time - including his affair with cousin Daisy. Doubtless this mix of scandal and crowns will bring in the crowd, but I expect Film4 (who are funding the picture) will be mightily disappointed if it doesn't pick up any gold baldies. Roger Michell is currently attached to direct, which probably means his potential involvement with George Orwell adaptation Burmese Days is no longer happening.

Nymphomaniac/Dirt in Bedsores

Lars von Trier likes to make jokes, you could say his entire film-making career has been one practical joke after another, so take this with a pinch of salt, but the Danish Director has revealed he's torn between those two titles (two separate projects) as his next movie but it's likely to be The Nymphomaniac, a tale of a woman's erotic awakening. Given that von Trier's previously stated he'd like to make a full-on pornographic movie expect it to be pretty difficult to watch and not one to take our mother to.

True Lies 2

Arnold Schwarzeneggar is clearly at a loss of what to do now he's an ex-Governator, so naturally the prospect of returning to cinema is appealing to the 63 year old Austrian Oak. Recently he's been tweeting about a potentially follow up to his 1994 spy romp and been gallivanting round Brazil with old chum James Cameron so it's perfectly logical for the Internet to connect the dots between these events and start salivating over the possibility of a renewed team-up between these cinematic titans. I doubt any of it's true, but it's nice to dream, isn't it?



Who wouldn't want to see these two reunited?

Casting News

There have been some unsurprising rumblings from casting directors over the last week with some high profile movies getting some fascinating additions. The Coen-penned Gambit has gained Alan Rickman and Tom Courtenay in major supporting roles which is definitely a bonus, whilst limousine based Cosmopolis has picked up Samantha Morton - I have no idea how the whole cast will fit in the one car. With the news that Jennifer Lawrence is playing the Hunger Games the race is on to replace her in The Savages: Olivia Wilde is the bookies favourite but we do now know that she'll be joining Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as the pot smoking leads and Benicio Del Toro and Salma Hayek as the cartel bosses out to kill them (probably because they're the only Latin American Actors famous enough to draw a not Latino crowd).

Release Dates

We have been overwhelmed with new and revised release dates this month, with a big surprise as well as a couple of the most anticipated movies of the year getting their dates.

The Messenger - Shockingly delayed release for Oscar nominated drama (from over a year ago) following Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson as members of the Casualty Notification Team. Prepare for bad news on 20 May 2011.

Win Win - High School Wrestling features in this low key drama that wowed at Sundance and followed with a solid limited US release, now competing against the above. Take down your opponent on 20 May 2011.

Princesse de Montpensier - French historic drama (you see, I am trying to see more foreign language movies) following an affair that split across religious boundaries in 16th Century France. Rip a bodice on 08 July 2011.

One Day - Moving into a mid-summer slot might seem like odd programming for this potential awards bait romance, but given the current lack of quality releases for the month this should give it room to shine. Fall for your best friend on 26 August 2011.

Warrior - Constantly moving - much like it's cage fighting central character - this Tom Hardy vehicle has shifted forward a bit this time, probably moving in for the killer shot. Get pummelled on 23 September 2011.

The Debt - There's more movement for the Mossad agents in this English language remake as Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson are still getting to grips with mistakes they made in the past. Catch former Nazis on 30 September 2011.

Big Year - OK, so advanced buzz about David Frankel bird spotting comedy may not be setting the world on fire but I'm still looking forward to seeing Steve Martin and Jack Black going head to head. Get the binoculars out on 11 November 2011.

Hugo Cabret - Slight shift for Martin Scorsese's first foray into both children's films and 3D filmmaking, and it's going to be fascinating to see the man behind Taxi Driver and Goodfellas handle both those challenges. Get friendly with an impoverished film director on 02 December 2011.

Machine Gun Preacher - Next years Oscar season is just around the corner - at least it's around the corner in terms of staking the January release dates such as this biker turned saviour to child soldiers biopic. Find God on 06 January 2012.

Prometheus - Finally next years summer schedule is also beginning to show some promise with Ridley Scott's return to the Alien franchise that made him staking out a prominent June release. Don't bother screaming, it won't be heard, on 01 June 2012.

It's not all good news on the release date front though. This last month Rob Reiner's coming of age drama Flipped slipped quietly out on DVD never to see the inside of UK cinemas. Not terribly surprising given it's mediocre US box office take of $1.7m - barely 12% of it's production budget.

Oh, and I'm ending with a quote that I loved this week:

"You can't cry on a diamond's shoulder, and diamonds won't keep you warm at night, but they're sure fun when the sun shines." Elizabeth Taylor 1932-2011

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Honouring the writers (Film News - 12/02/11)

It's been a fantastic week for film fans, every day we've been treated to valuable nuggets of information all building up to exciting propositions for future cinematic releases. Some have been for the sort of box office behemoths that dominate the front pages however there has also been a tsunami of reportage for more high brow fare, including some projects that may bother the Academy over the next couple of years.

The Third Act/He Loves Me

We start this week with two very different projects that share a similar starting point: Writer's Block (something I imagine most bloggers are familiar with). In The Third Act we have a sucessful author of Western novels - set to be played by Morgan Freeman - He Loves Me will star Paul Dano as a former child prodigy trying to break into serious adult fiction (that's fiction for adults nothing saucy).

That's where the similarities end. Whilst the former involves Freeman meddling with the lives of the local inhabitants of the small town he retreats to for inspiration and the latter will riff on Pygmalion and see Dano writing up hs ideal girlfriend into existence. Behind the cameras will be Rob Reiner and Little Miss Sunshine duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris further highlighting the divergent styles.



You wouldn't have thought tht writer's block (as visualised above) would be such a hot topic in Hollywood, but with these two and Jason Reitman's upcoming Young Adult there definitely seems to be a trend forming. I would be tempted to say theres been a lot of it about but you could hardly argue the output has dwindled over recent years or that the quality of high end writing has dimished either in la-la-land or on the Waterstone's shelves. Maybe it's just an outpouring of nostalgia for the printed word before it finally gets subsumed by the instant gratification of the computer screen.

Read on for tragic siblings, runaway princesses, gospel singers, assassins, hypnotherapy, bible stories, werewolves, The Coen brothers, mad millionaires and the usual helpings of casting news.



Back Roads

Andrew Garfield (left) clearly has a good head on his shoulders, or at least a clever agent, as he's already signing onto the indie options tht will prove invaluable once the Spider-man cash cow has met it's untimely end. Once filming on the web slinger is over he'll be raising his youg sisters all by himself as a result of his domestically abused Mum murdering his Dad. Expect lots of wrought emotions, as well as steamy encounters with neighbour Jennifer Garner, in Adrian Lyne's film.

Girl's Night Out

The King's Speech has reminded everyone that good old-fashioned Royalty mixing with commoners is still as popular as ever so it's no surprise to see the tale of young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret sneaking out of the Palace on VE day and having a high old time in London. Expect Margaret (due to be played by Dakota Fanning!!!) to be having much more fun than her upright sister, now The Queen.

Got to Tell It: Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel

If you think one American Idol reject winning an Oscar is not enough then stand by for Fantasia Barrino (to be honest I have no idea who she is, but apparently she's well known on that side of the pond). She's taking the lead role in the biopic of the Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson (right - in full flow). Unlike most biopics there's very little dirt to dig up on Mahalia, raised in an abusive household she found the Church fairly early on and never looked back. On the other hand she sung at the March on Washington in 1963 and at Martin Luther King's funeral as well as being the first Gospel artist to perform at the Carnegie Hall. So it should be a fairly affirming movie at least.

Headshot

I wouldn't normally go for Stallone movies, especially one where he plays a hitman lest it be a sort of sequel to the horrific Assassins. However the graphic novel has been adapted by The Messenger scribe Alessandro Camon which, given how powerful and nuanced his previous work is, makes me very interested indeed.

The Hynotist

Dragon Tattoo fans rejoice there's a new Swedish thriller set to ake the leap to the big screen, and even better it's not being made as a TV miniseries then being butchered into feature length episodes. On the other had Lars Kopler's first novel (left) in his Det. Joona Linna books is hardly Steig Larsson levels of notoriety. The plot involves a near dead boy being hypnotised to reveal details of who murdered his family in order to protect the other surviving siblings. Probably gory.

Noah's Ark

A few weeks ago we had speculation about Darren Aronofsky writing a comic book in order to obtain finance for his next projet. This week we found out that comic is for his Noah's Ark story. The odd thing is it's not even a metaphor. Darren Aronofsky really wants to make a biblical epic about the most famous boat in Genesis, covering themes of environmentalism and survivors guilt, it's the sort of film they definitely don't make anymore. Not sure how middle America will respond - but then I guess they didn't watch Black Swan.

Sharp Teeth

Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy may be joining forces for the third time running (after Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours) with the adaptation of the Werewolves in gangland LA novel by Toby Barlow (right). It's had some very good press and won the Alex award for young adult literature. Clearly Boyle's highly acclaimed National Theatre production of Frankenstein has persuaded him to make the leap to onscreen horror.

The Coen Brother's next movie

Joel and Ethan Coen are in an virtually unheard of position as they have no project on the go, and as much as I'd like them to return to some of their abandoned ideas (The Yiddish Policeman's Union first and foremost) it seems they're going to bemoving on. During a recent webchat with Empire magazine they hinted a full blown horror may be on the cards - with Frances McDormand as the monster - or a faux documentary might make it first (according to Roger Deakins). Frankly, with the financial and critical success of True Grit I imagine the studios will make them make whatever they want to make this time.

Christopher Nolan's Howard Hughes biopic

Apparently Christopher Nolan (left) fancies making a small movie after Dark Knight Rises, aiming to follow the increasing bizare behaviour of reclusive Billionaire Howard Hughes. I'm not sure how much more needs to be said about the man, between Scorsese's The Aviator and the Melvin and Howard cameo I think we've seenit all, however Nolan clearly wants an Oscar and it might be that biopics are the only way for him to get one.


Casting News

Some interesting addtions to projects already in the pipeline including Richard Jenkins joining the card cheat fallout out in Cogan's Trade, Nicolas Hoult will be Jack, The Giant Killer out to dispose of the Bill Nighy and John Kassir's two headed giant whilst being manipulated by Stanley Tucci. Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake and Catherine Zeta-Jones will all be gambling on Lay the Favourite. Oscar nominees James Franco is the latest Wizard in Oz: The Great and Powerful and Jennifer Lawrence will be involved with drug cartels in The Savages. Finally - and I know this isn't cating - David Frankel (Devil wears Prada) is the latest diretor attachedto Meryl Strep marital therapy comedy Great Hope Springs.

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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?

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Film News (07/03/10)

A big catch up on three weeks worth of news, although this does mean we have to edit out some of the less exciting stories (at least in my humble opinion). I've not had the time to do any production or release date news, other than one new film that I've already shown the trailer for. I'll update on all that after my return from the tour.

Contagion

Without doubt the most interesting project coming is from one of my favourite directors - Steven Soderbergh. It concerns an outbreak of a deadly virus spreading worldwide, with an incredible cast of white coat wearing scientists battling to stop it. When I say incredible cast I mean it - currently attached are Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Gwynneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne. It's difficult to try to second guess how Soderbergh will play this. It will be coming after the popcorn black ops pic Knock Out so I'm thinking this may end up being more introspective like a more populated Andromeda Strain.



Read on for virtual reality wars, two types of gangsters, a modern day Lady Macbeth and lots of wild animals.



Dot War

It's a crazy sounding project, as reporter by Pajiba, based around the idea that a video game programme gets recruited by a shadowy government agency to battle terrorists using virtual equipment. I'm not completely sure what they mean by virtual equipment, does that mean it's not really there? Will it be drones? Will the whole thing be a spin on Tron where the action takes place inside a computer? Whatever the case there's certainly an audience for this sort of mindless fun.

I Heard You Paint Houses

During the press junkets for Shutter Island Scorsese let slip that he's currently working on a project that will reunite him with former frequent star Robert De Niro. We know nothing more than that but rumours are it's the biopic of mob hitman Frank Sheeran. On related news the idea bumping around that Lars von Trier was going to remake Taxi Driver seems to have thankfully disappeared.

Savages

If Italian gangsters aren't quite your thing how about Mexican drug cartels? Based on Don Winslow's forthcoming novel it concerns a couple of drug dealing friends from Laguna Beach (who it should be said work the entire business growing and selling their own Marijuana), when a mutual girlfriend is kidnapped they devise a dangerous scheme to rescue her with paying up. Depending on the tone of the novel - will this be a stoner comedy or a dense polemic - this could well be worth watching, and if the leading trios relationships are carefully drawn will this be a Butch Cassidy for the 21st century?

Serena

Is Anjelina Jolie circling the adaptation of Serena: A Novel by Ron Rash? It's about the wife of a North Carolina woodsman in the 1920's who slowly becomes more ruthless and violent until she decides to murder her husbands son from a previous marriage. It's like a reverse Changeling, which sounds fun.

We Bought a Zoo

Cameron Crowe may have finally settled on a follow-up to his critically panned Elizabethtown in the adaptation of the Guardian columnist's memoir about the renovation of a Devon country house and Wildlife park attached. Alongside the general highs and lows involved with Llamas and tigers there's also the drama of fighting the cancer that Benjamin Mee's wife contracts. I've missed Crowe's lightness of touch, so I'm hoping he will actually take this project seriously.

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