Difficult to get a handle on the headlines this week, especially with the leading story as there are two vastly different points I want to make about the forthcoming Alan Turing biopic. Of course overall I welcome the increased pace of news this week, with three completely new stories coming our way as well as a flurry of castings it feels like a proper week again.
Imitation Game
Leonardo DiCaprio wants an Oscar, his yearning has become obvious, as reports of his J. Edgar indicate it's fairly missable, he's already lining up his next biopic, a biopic that has all the hallmarks of Academy Award bait. He'll play mathematical genius, suicidally tortured homosexual and renowned stutterer Alan Turing.
Don't get me wrong with 2012 seeing the centennial of Turing's birth the list of his achievements should be sung from the rafters. Here is a man who virtually invented the modern computer, and whose work on the German Enigma device in the second World War won the war in the Atlantic. I wish that Hugh Whitemore's 1986 play "Breaking the Code" with it's award winning performance by Derek Jacobi at the core had a more significant part to play in Turing's fame. It's an incredible play that really gets to grips with Turing's work and personal dilemmas.
It's interesting timing for this news in a couple of ways, partly because of the J. Edgar connection, but partly because of the perceived connection between Turing (above) and Apple computers whose founder Steve Jobs passed away last week. Turing committed suicide in response to chemical castration following a conviction for homosexual activity (illegal in 1952 Britain) by taking a bite from a cyanide laden apple. When the epithet genius has been bandied about far too much in the last couple of weeks to describe branding maestro Jobs, it's time to remember the man who may (or may not) have inspired the Apple logo and who truly deserves the tag of genius.
In many ways I want DiCaprio to pass on the role, and as much as I want to see this film made I would rather the part went to an unknown (obviously I'm prepared to put myself up for the role) and the film garnered a less obvious but still committed audience. After all this story doesn't need awards it just needs to be told.
Read on for New York shenanigans, a time-travel twist on Pride and Prejudice and some casting stories.
The Emperor's Children
Scott Cooper has taken over the helm for the adaptation of Claire Messud's novel, taking over from Noah Baumbach. The novel revolves around the romantic and platonic relationships between four New Yorkers about to hit the big 3-0. Michelle Williams was attached for a while, but the latest press release says nothing about the actors so it could be that she's moved on. Either way this looks like it could have some curious performances from some up and coming actors.
Lost in Austen
Nora Ephron is set to make her first sci-fi movie, albeit one which won't alienate her core fans. Adapted from an ITV mini-series the film centres around a modern New Yorker - shifted from London - whose romantic life is further complicated when she finds herself implanted in Jane Austen's seminal novel "Pride and Prejudice", hijinks involving the novel's plot strands falling apart and the headstrong Elizabeth Bennett making the most of her New York adventure will no doubt make an excellent fish out of the water comedy. Ephron will probably use her Julie & Julia template of jumping between the stories much more than the ITV production which stayed firmly with our heroine. Expect two big names to sign up soon, as well as another iconic Mr. Darcy.
A book cover of Jane Austen's classic, I expect the book itself will feature heavily as a prop.
Casting News
We've had some odd rumours with regards to bills over the last week, none more so than the Avatar 2 saga with Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron both weighing in over the Alien star's potential to return to the franchise. Whilst currently denying it Cameron made a point about non-linear storytelling which could indicate that we could go back to Grace's early work on Pandora. Not to mention the spiritual world-building could bring in some surprising facts about the afterlife. I'm sure this story will go on and on either way. Liam Hemsworth, the brother of Thor with the least interesting CV, has signed up for time-travel romance Timeless, I normally wouldn't care but he's only 21 - how can we justify giving the role about a man inventing a time machine to see his dead wife just once more to a child? Alexander Payne has a long list of veterans he's approaching for his alcoholic old man road trip, including Robert Forster, Jack Nicholson, Robert Duvall and, most intriguingly given he's retired, Gene Hackman. If he can persuade Hackman to make a comeback then you know this will be something special. Finally the cast for Robert Redford's Company you Keep keeps on getting better and better with the latest additions of Anna Kendrick and Terrence Howard, look out for this to be in my top 20 for 2012!
Can Payne persuade the legendary Hackman to come out of retirement for one last role? I hope so.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
The Real Computer Genius - (Film News - 15/10/11)
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Unusual method for an Alien Invasion (Film News - 13/11/10)
Stand by for a stream of conciousness - I am literally writing this on the hoof. One window with the news on and one window writing it up. It's going to be very quick, very unstructured and may even border on plaguarism. All I know is that I will ignore any casting rumours and stick only to the big stuff - new projects on the go. As I don't have access to my own 'pooter for two more weeks this is may be an interesting news style. Hopefullly it won't be horribly disappointing for you!!!
Under the Skin
I have to say the concept of Scarlett Johannson's latest project so shlocky and exploitative I almost just jumped ahead to the next story. In the movie, based on the novel by Michel Faber, she will star as an alien invader who uses her powers of seduction to lure men to their deaths - which allows them to be packaged off as haute cuisine on her home planet.
There are two interesting twists though. The first is plot related and involves her allegiances to her job and to her prey - is that spoiler free enough? - and the other is that Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth) is set to direct. In his two previous films Glazer proved he could mix potentially distasteful subject matter with classy production standards. I'm very interested to see how he works with this sort of material, though.
Third Person
I meant to mention this last week - not sure why I didn't - but it looks like Paul Haggis might be returning to the Crash hyperlink formula with his next movie. Tracing three couples across the globe as their lives intersect and affect each other. He intends it to be "very, very dark". I just hope it's not very, very simplistic...
Robbing the Grave
You might have thought that the poor performance of Burke & Hare on this side of the Atlantic in spite of it's fine cast would put studios off the concept of grave robbing. Apparently not as the heist drama written by Karl Gajdusek and Michael Finch is looking like it's going into production with Gregory Hoblit at the helm. For the record I don't think there is any actual graverobbing in the plot, I just didn't know how to start this piece.
Electric Boy Genius
Doing everything it says on the tin - EBG is a true life story about a child prodigy who could rewire a TV remote control before being able to say the alphabet (or somesuch hyperbolic parental statement). Why anyone other than the parents being interested in the extradinary abilities of young Derek I have no idea. Be honest how many readers have been told by a friend/relative about the development of their offspring without stifling a yawn?
Untitled Paul Potts movie
Before SuBo Britain's Got Talent's most bizarre contestant was Paul Potts, an unassuming travel agent with a voice from the heavens. Movie is still on it's way. David (The Devil Wears Prada) Frankel is set to direct - shudder. I'd just let the voice speak for itself.
Lay the Favourite
Gambling should be exciting. It is in real life. You go to the dogs, or casino, put a twenty on zero or on the nose and get really tense when the trpas are released/wheel spins. Unfortunately films that focus on gambling often fall short of that excitement - it's only movies where it's a scene within the film that really make it work. Anyhoo, Bruce Willis and Rebecca Hall are cicling this latest stab at high stakes film making based on Beth Raymer's memoir about beating the Las Vegas sports book system. Does the thought of Willis making out with Brit beauty Rebecca disgust you too?
Timeless
I don't know if this is the same Timeless I mentioned a few weeks ago - that one was set to be directed by Robert Zemeckis and had no plot details other than it was based on time travel. This has Philip Noyce attached and is about a husband who loses his wife and builds a time machine to see her one more time.
I guess only time will tell if they are the same projects. Sorry.
And that's it. Come back next week for more badly puntuated pithy comments.
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Recovery time (Film News - 02/10/10)
It has been an extraordinarily busy week for news. If I were to be perfectly honest with you I thought that missing the release schedules last week and postponing to today would be easy as a single week of headlines in the back end of September wouldn't cause too much to wade through. How wrong can I be. We've got additional casting news, some long dead projects getting resurrected, some very interesting rumours circulating and the odd new story bubbling up. Let's not delay:
My Stroke of Insight
Gone are the days when rehabilitation from life threatening illnesses was the domain of made for television movies. Aleandro Amenabar and Julian Schabel have added an arthouse sensibility to the subject which allowed The Sea Inside and The Divingbell and the Butterfly to break out from the traditional format of these subjects. As both of these movies flirted with awards but didn't quite breakout it was only a matter of time before an American protagonist would be inserted into a US version.
So when a film adaptation of Jo Bolte Taylor's memoir about recovering from a stroke, and the additional understanding she could use (being a bona fide neuro-anatomist), was in the works with Jodie Foster potentially up for the lead role I was super excited.
Unfortunately the man behind the camera will be saccharine magnet Ron Howard. Now don't get me wrong there are some films Howard's made which have reasonably enjoyable (see Parenthood or Apollo 13) but generally he's a bit of a hack with a penchant for making people cry. Obviously if the films made I will still go see it, and in spite of my concerns I expect Foster to run off with her third Oscar, but I am deeply fearful of the overall quality of the piece.
Read on for comic books, aliens, cops, cowboys, time travel and maybe a classic novel. Plus the latest production and release date news.
Darren Aronofsky's choice - Superman or Preacher
The Black Swan director has never had it so good. Just over a month ago it was announced that he was in the running for the directorial gig for Wolverine 2 this week there have been further rumours about the Superman reboot and the off-kilter graphic novel about God giving up on His job. Naturally he won't be making all of these movies, possibly he won't hem any of them but it's certainly upping his personal cachet given how many major blockbusters are considering his talent.
Of the three I would hope Darren would go for Preacher (left), as the less well known property and the most morally ambiguous there will be plenty more scope for playing with the genre and freedom to make the film he wants.
EDF
Sam Raimi is still amazingly quiet, over a year has passed since Drag me to Hell and several months since the Spiderman rug was yanked from under his feet. But it looks like he may have been working on an Alien invasion pic writ en by Andrew Marlowe (Air Force One). The plot sounds awfully derivative of all movies of this type as well as general war films, with the invasion sparking off with a small advance attack then a bigger onslaught identified, nevertheless this is the sort of diverting fun that could do extremely well at the multiplex.
The Great Gatsby
At the premier for Social Network Baz Luhrmann happened to be chatting to the assembled press when he let it slip the big screen version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's generation defining novel (left) may still be on track, with Leonardo DiCaprio among the rumoured cast. I confess I only know the novel by reputation, but it's hard to argue with that combination of star and director.
Not that it's written in stone just yet though, Baz also confided he's torn between Gatsby and an unnamed musical set in New York. Interesting. We should have a final decision in the next couple of weeks.
The Lone Ranger
No, the big screen adaptation of televisions most famous cowboy, his horse Silver and native American companion Tonto (see left) hasn't disappeared forever. Michael Bay has resurrected the project (shivers going down everyone spine) and it still might make a 2012 release with Johnny Depp in one of the key roles.
Tales from the Gangster Squad
Ben Affleck is suddenly a wanted man. Whilst I may consider his latest film, The Town, as a minor step back from the masterful Gone Baby Gone the combination of critical and box office success has meant his reputation as a director has never been higher. Step forward the opportunity to make a 1940's LA based movie about the cops chasing after public enemy number one Mickey Cohen. It's familiar territory even if journo Paul Lieberman's source material is uniquely positioned to separate the legend from the truth. This could end up being a perfect LA counterpoint to The Untouchables, which would make me very happy indeed.
Timeless
Robert Zemeckis may be hard a work on The Yellow Submarine but that hasn't stopped him considering what his next move will be, and surprisingly it's a return to live action. As well as being a movie about time travel, a subject he captured wonderfully in the Back to the Future trilogy. We don't have any other details at the moment, but as soon as I hear more you'll be the first to know.
Obituaries
It's been a sad week for Hollywood, as we saw the passing of actors Tony Curtis and Gloria Stuart and editor Sally Menke all of whom will be sorely missed. However I would like to say a couple of words about director Arthur Penn who also left us on Tuesday. 
I can't say that I was a big fan of Penn's work, many of his films struck me as histrionic and confused, that said it is difficult to argue with his legacy. Bonnie and Clyde revolutionised cinema, introducing audiences to the coolness of criminal behaviour and the unremitting violence that results. This week I saw Ben Affleck's The Town and I think it's fair to say that without Penn's earlier work films like that simply would not exist. Let us raise a glass to Arthur Penn and remember his legacy.
Casting News - Last week I added a casting news section purely because I was catching up on film stories this week I'm doing it because I've already had loads of articles and I just can't type anymore... So here are the latest casting rumours on films we've mentioned here at the blog before: Fernando Meirelles' 360 is coming on strong gaining Anthony Hopkins, Frances McDormand and Eminem to it's intersecting love stories. Lawrence Kasdan's Darling Companion has drafted in Diane Wiest and Sam Shepard to help search for the titular pooch, George Clooney is talking to Ryan Gosling for a role in his forthcoming Farragut North and Christopher Plummer may play the aging patriarch who sets off the plot in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Production News
Every month I trawl though old news stories to identify which rumours have become reality and whether anything I missed is suddenly underway, and every month I am pleasantly surprised by some of the revelations. This month we have a number of projects that looked - on imdb anyway - like they'd been abandoned or at least delayed indefinitely including Istvan Svabo's The Door (which is now filming), Singularity - a coma induced time travelling story, the zombie fantasy World War Z, Mad Max: Fury Road, Ang Lee's Life of Pi and the long gestating Pablo Escobar biopic. As well as that there are a number of films we've covered in the news sections which are in pre-production stages including LA cop drama Rampant, Lawrence Kasdan's Darling Companion, political expose Farragut North, creature feature Isopod, Matthew McConaughay as Killer Joe, 9/11 drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Roman Polanski's God of Carnage, sex comedy The Abstinence Teacher and Nicolas Sparks weepfest The Lucky One.
The following film has also appeared unannounced on David Finchers to do list:
Killer
Adapted from the graphic novel by Metz and with a 2013 production date I know very little about this latest addition to Fincher's schedule, although it would certainly indicate he may not be ready to sign on for the full Millennium trilogy.
Release Dates
Flipped - It may be a very simple looking coming of age fable, but director Rob Reiner has shown he understands this age group on many occasions. Fall in love for the first time on 12 November 2010.
Somewhere - Following the surprise win at Venice Sofia Coppola's LA set story of disaffected TV stars has been bumped up into this year. Wreck your hotel room on 10 December 2010.
Way Back - Drifting back a week is Peter Weir's refugee drama, frankly I'm surprised it's coming out at all the reception at Telluride was very good but there didn't seem to be much interest in distribution - keep your fingers crossed. Trek across the Himalayas on 31 December 2010.
My Soul to Take - We may all be concentrating on the fourth episode of the Scream franchise, but let's not forget that Wes Craven has squeezed out this horror in the meantime. Try to guess who will survive on 14 January 2011.
Morning Glory - The January schedules keep on drifting whilst the major prestige releases ensure they won't be fighting each other at the box office, although frankly I'm not sure whether this TV news comedy qualifies as prestige. Flick over to the BBC on 21 January 2011.
It's a kind of Funny Story - Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have certainly raised eyebrows with their unpredicatable follow-up to Sugar, festival reviews weren't brilliant. Check yourself in for a "rest" on 11 March 2011.
The Eagle - The adaptation of Rosemary Sutcliffe's classic novel suffered due to it's close plot ties with Neil Marshall's ultra Roman thriller Centurion and saw it's release fall back, it's now shifted once more to a more profitable looking slot. Find a missing army on 18 March 2011.
Thor - Clearly in blockbuster territory now with Kenneth Branagh's Marvel adaptation shifting into the same release date as Iron Man 2, and effectively kicking off the summer. Return to Valhalla on 29 April 2011.
War Horse - Spielberg now has two release dates for 2011, catching up I suppose on the three year gap since the last one, this is his serious film for the year. Become a hero in the trenches on 09 September 2011.
Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn - And this is the second one, likely to bring in much more money we just have to hope the 'berg gets the tone of Herge's original omic strips. Blister billions of blue barnacles on 28 October 2011.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - I'm not sure why the release dates for David Finchers english language remake of the Steig Larsson bestseller keep changing, but there seems to be some difficulty in deciding exactly when to release it. Be sexually ambiguous on 23 Decmber 2011.
Frankenweenie - I'm more intrigued than interested in Tim Burton's latest stop motion experiment, having not seen the original short, that said I'll definitely be there on opening night. Reanimate your puppy on 09 March 2012.
Some films though don't have such good news on release dates. Craig Brewer's Footloose remake and (most distrssingly) the short collection New York, I Love You have both had their releases pulled out from under them with no sign of a new date. Worse is Niki Caro's Angels and Wine adpatation The Vintner's Luck which went direct to DVD during September.
