Whilst most bloggers have been focused on the late summer film festivals (Venice, Telluride and Toronto) eager to identify some late entry awards bait or future cult viewing I have been playing the long game. Yes, we're back again for a monthly look at the latest cinematic treats slipping into production and you never know some of these projects could end up being Oscar players in 2014. I don't necessary expect them all to be future winners, or even good, or even get made at all, but that's all part of the fun of reading IMDb and here's what I found this month.
Crazy for the Storm
Sean Penn is back behind the camera with Norman Ollestad's survival memoir, and if the central storyline of a young protagonist forced to struggle in extreme weather conditions before finding his way back to civilisation sounds a little similar to Into the Wild but in reverse then you're not too far off.
Where Emile Hirsch's Christopher McCandless deliberately put himself in extreme situations to test his resilience and paid the ultimate sacrifice, Ollestad was orphaned in a horrific plane crash on the side of a mountain and had to forge his way out of danger, aged just 11. The book cover, below, and it's simple inscription, explains it all.
We know Penn has an incredibly feel for capturing the beauty and danger of the natural world and, with Josh Brolin signing up to play Norman's FBI father, expect this to be a well acted mood-piece that highlights man's fragility and place in the natural order.
Read on for criminals in wheelchairs, dreams of Fellini, patricide, the secrets of the universe and a potential manic pixie girl. Go on, read on, what are you waiting or?
Bandits manchots
There was a time when Jean-Paul Belmondo was the face of French cinema, his weathered features and mysterious style saw in cast in iconic roles for Godard, Truffaut and Lautner. It's was a shock to many when the once virile star suffered a debilitating stroke in 2010, however even without the use of one arm and one leg Jean-Paul is determined to keep on working, taking the lead role in the French farce about geriatric fugitives. Oddly this film is also planned as the first of a trilogy linked by a single sequence in the middle.
Elsa & Fred
Shirley Maclaine may be lording it up over at "Downton Abbey" at the moment, but it's a casual fling not a permanent residency as she's already planning her next cinematic outing. The remake of Marcos Carnevale's Argentinian hit, also called Elsa & Fred (see poster, right), will see Maclaine as a lonely dreamer, obsessed with Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' and her widower neighbour who's life she turns around. As The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has proven this year there's is a significant market for films focussing on older characters and this elderly romcom has plenty of potential to be a mid market hit.
In God We Trust
There are two films that don't seem to be limiting themselves to a standard narrative, and this is the one that doesn't feature Terry Gilliam. Described as a "thriller about stealing a country, manipulating money but also about the desire to kill your parents" this seems more like a therapy session than a movie. It does sound strangely enticing, although when you break it down it could just be a coup in a royal family, not that imagining Prince Harry usurping the throne wouldn't be incredible.
Zero Theorem
On to Terry who's latest project sounds as barmy as you'd expect. Penned by first time script-writer Pat Rushin and starring Christoph Waltz as a computer hacker trying to solve the mysteries of the universe whilst being watched by a bureaucratic all-knowing Government agency, Theorem seems to borrow elements from Gilliam's finest hours, including Brazil's politics and embattled hero (left) and 12 Monkeys sci-fi leanings. It's also set almost exclusively in one location - a burned out chapel - so look out for the most astounding and detailed production design.
Untitled Cameron Crowe Project that might be Deep Tiki
Finally Almost Famous director Crowe looks like he's resurrecting his 2008 project that quietly disappeared in spite of attracting Reese Witherspoon and Ben Stiller to the script. Set in Hawaii and involving a disgraced weapons expert (really?) discovering himself against a back-drop of discovering the islands culture and politics. Emma Stone has replaced Reese as the local girl the hero falls for, but no word on the male lead as yet. You never know Crowe might even mix things up and swap the genders... 
Emma made her name with quirky high-school comedy with literary roots Easy A, pictured, and is building quite a fan base with her obvious leading lady appeal and smart choices.
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Wild and Windy weather (Film News - August 2012)
Sunday, 6 November 2011
I'm getting to old for this s**t (Film News - 05/11/11)
I know, I know, I'm a day late. I would love to heap on the excuses and try to wriggle my way out of responsibility but it can't be done. I simply didn't turn my computer on yesterday (although to be fair I spent most of the day 200 miles away from it) so couldn't post up this weeks moribund news section. Not that we've missed much, the lead story has a title I don't understand and a premise that firmly sets out it's stall for potential audiences (not me it seems), there's the least surprising press call this year and even the monthly IMDb trawl barely uncovered anything. Oh well at least we've got our health, eh?
BZRK
Michael Grant's young adult high concept sci-fi may not be hitting the shelves until 2012 but Sony pictures are so sure of it's success in the lucrative market that optioning the big screen adaptation seems like a no-brainer. Although if you asked me they should wait to see if the novels pick up in the way of Twilight or Hunger Games before dishing out the cash. ALthough on the other hand whilst the books flopping might save them some money the resulting bidding war if the kids love it may be cripplingly expensive.
The plot features too competing factions using nanotechnology to try to control mankind, the first a unfeeling conglomerate headed by co-joined twins Charles and Benjamin (this'll do wonders for societies acceptance of co-joined twins) and their quest to turn mankind into subservient consumers and create a capitalist utopian society. On the other side is the BZRK's, a teenage guerilla army, no doubt representing the 99%, who will stop at anything to prevent this nascent corporate takeover. Including using nanobots that are linked to the lifeforce of the donor/controller in their group. 
Of course it's very early days so I wouldn't go raising your hopes for this particular production, although Grant's literary pedigree is succesful enough (the "Gone" series) to suggest he knows his market so maybe this will turn out to be the next Harry Potter?
Read on for wolf pack refugees and why all eyes were on London this week, as well as the latest in casting and production news and the chance to say goodbye to a Hollywood hero.
Untitled Gus van Sant picture
At first this week I thought the world was about to end, that everything I had held dear to was about to be destroyed in a burning apocalypse. Taylor Lautner, him of the rock hard abs and even harder acting style from the Twilight franchise (on the right, you know who I mean), wants a real film acting career - actually with the recent box office disaster that was Abduction any career might be a bonus - and has "hired" Gus van Sant and Dustin Lance Black to mould a vehicle around him based on an as yet unknown New Yorker article. Now I could be putting two and two together and making five but given van Sant and Black are high profile gay film-makers and their last collaboration was homosexual politician biopic Milk so is Lautner about to go gay for pay? Does he really think the critics are so shallow that merely kissing a bloke will get him the plaudits he's so far missed?
Skyfall
So the next Bond movie is called Skyfall, surprise surprise. There was a big press call on Thursday where all the rumours that have circulated about the forthcoming production were confirmed - except for the less action more introspection story which was roundly turned upon. That's it really, a lot of bruhaha about nothing. I still really want to see it though.
Casting News
I am sure I've mentioned this before, but I'm damned if I can find my post on the film, but on the off chance I haven't it's great to see Nicole Kidman sign up to play elephant conservationist Dame Daphne Shledrake in My Wild Life which sound a bit like a pachyderm version of Gorillas in the Mist only with a happier ending. Everyone wants to work with Leonardo DiCaprio so it's no surprise to see him and Sean Penn on Alejandro Gonzalez Inarrittu's revenge western The Revenant, with DiCaprio recovering from a bear mauling and crossing America to demand an apology to Penn for leaving him to die.
The last time Nicole Kidman got involved with an Elephant it was a delightful cocktail, I doubt this will feature the same amount of singing and absinthe.
Production News
Scanning IMDb has been it's usual process of rediscovering titles I thought had disappeared, surprising myself with previous posts that are coming to fruition and the odd new project came to my attention (and make no mistake the only new film is very odd). Resurrected this month is the Swedish crime thriller The Hypnotist, biblical drama Mary, Mother of Christ and Kenneth Grahame biopic Banking on Mr. Toad. On the new movie side we have Alexander Payne's Nebraska (although to be fair that's been drifting along threatening to enter pre-production for years), submarine actioner Hunter Killer - joining Antoine Fuqua's ever expanding to-do list, the Coen Brothers' folk music expose Inside Llewyn Davis (now with added Justin Timberlake), true life murder/siege drama Foxcatcher, sci-fi romance Timeless and Robert De Niro on acerbic comic form in The Comedian.
Monster Butler
Extended from a 2010 short film, Malcolm McDowell will be reprising his role as serial killing servant Roy Fontaine, who murdered 7 employers, acquaintances and relatives in the late 1970's before serving out the rest of his days in prison. Peter (Highlander) Bellwood's script, partly based on Fontaine's own memoires, will probably take in the complex addictions and weaknesses of it's anti-hero as he graduated from petty thievery to more serious crime and found that he couldn't stop once he started. Or it could be exploitative nonsense, we'll see.
McDowell has a spotty filmography but you know he fully commits to eveyr role so he at least should be worth seeing.
Gilbert Cates
Finally this week we were saddened by the passing of Gilbert Cates, veteran director and producer who's early relationship dramas and TV staples will no doubt be passed over for the incredible contribution and consistency he brought to producing the Oscars telecast between 1990 and 2006. Like it or loathe it it's fair to say much of what we recognise in the annual celebration from tinseltown directly stems from Cates' ideas and production values over the last two deacades. He will be missed.
Here's a snippet of I never Sang for My father the 1971 play adaptation that first brought him to the attention of the mainstream.
Saturday, 3 September 2011
You've got to Know when to Hold 'em (Film News - 03/09/11)
It's not been much of a week for film news, even trawling through IMDb looking at new movies going into production hasn't done much to whet my appetite for upcoming cinematic events. Of course there are a couple of reasons for that. Firstly it's the last week of the summer, ending with the US Labor Day weekend and what a perfect excuse to go away and relax for a bit. We've also seen the Venice and Telluride festivals kick off with Toronto coming on their heels next week, marking the final stage of 2011, the awards baity film releases. So with publicists and creatives mixing it with the Press at a variety of exotic locations, it looks like an inopportune moment to talk about what's going to happen in a couple of years time. Of the few stories I have spotted there has been a music related theme, even if utterly tenuous, so please enjoy the inserted youtube clips, and with the choices there should be something for everyone.
The Gambler
When I first heard that Martin Scorsese, William Monahan and Leonardo DiCaprio - the director, writer and star of 2006 Oscar winning The Departed - were getting back together to remake The Gambler I immediately felt my heart leap. At last legitimacy for Kenny Rogers' most famous ballad and unnecessary TV adaptation. Alas they were talking about a different better, the 1974 Karel Reisz drama which starred James Caan as a respectable middle class professor who is controlled by his addiction to gambling.
Like all good addiction movies it traces the compulsion from a harmless hobby to when it begins to cost Caan his family, home and even his professional integrity. Indeed the famous tagline, on the poster below, says it all.
The film is loosely based on a short story by Dostoyevsky and it's unclear right now how much Monahan will stick to the original film or return to the book for inspiration, or indeed when this will slot into the three hectic slates. One questions I really want to know though is why they didn't ask Tobey Maguire, Leo's poker buddy who's currently being sued for winning illegally gained funds - essentially money laundering even though he wasn't aware of it.
By the way if you wondering if they ever will remake Kenny's story, you'd better hope not as that Gambler should be left alone with his personal miseries. Let Kenny tell you all about it:
Read on for bountiful bouquets, rejected child actors and a belted dream as well as the latest list of films heading into production.
L'Ecume des Jours
It's a bit of a non-story but due to the scarcity of exciting stuff I'm running with it anyway. Do you remember several months ago we heard about a forthcoming collaboration between bonkers French director Michel Gondry and gamine Gallic Goddess Audrey Tatou? Well, it now has a title, which I would translate but I can't find a definition of Ecume anywhere. Anyone able to help? Anyway joining Tatou will be Romaine Duris (they have a long history of starring together) in the fantastical love story with philosophical subplots and beds of flowers (it's adapted from the 1947 novel by Boris Vian, so that hasn't come from nowhere). With those elements now known suddenly this seems like a perfect vehicle for all involved.
Cameron Crowe's Kids movie/My Name is Marvin
Crowe has scotched the rumours of a Say Anything sequel this week, although if you remember I had my personal doubts from the very beginning. So of course that's led to an avalanche of alternative theories of what he might he be working on next, in spite of the six year wait we've had for We Bought a Zoo. One popular thought is he will return to the Marvin Gaye biopic (My Name is Marvin) first planned several years ago, an artist to which he is still utterly in awe of (and who can blame his). Crowe's a former music journalist, which I guess everyone who's seen Almost Famous knows and this will be a fascinating bridge between his documentary work and narrative cinema.
The most recent alternative, which he's even admitted to writing, is a kids movie based on the child actors he didn't cast in We Bought a Zoo. Read about it in this excerpt from an IFC interview.
“This woman that I work with, Gail Levin, is a great casting director. She’s always finding new faces,” he said. “The kids she found for ‘We Bought a Zoo’ are so exciting. We met with all these actors, and they would leave the room and it was a situation where I would turn to Gail and say ‘They’re not right for this one, but I want to write something where we can work with that person.’ That was the genesis for writing a whole new script which I’ve been working on while we were doing ‘We Bought a Zoo’ and finishing this Pearl Jam movie.”
Which to me does not seem like a good enough excuse to make a movie, but maybe it will showcase great talent so I shouldn't be so sniffy.
Casting News
Only one casting bit that caught my eye this week but it's such a doozy I can't imagine that any film fans weren't on the cusp cheering the news that Anne Hathaway may be joining Tom Hooper's production of Les Miserables as Fantine. The phenomenally successful musical scored by Claude-Michel Schönberg has taken an painfully slow route to the screen, surprising given it's inbuilt audience, but with the casting of Hathaway alongside Hugh Jackman who last got together at the Oscars proving they both have the lungs to knock their respective roles out of the park. Fantine is a relatively short role in the story (no spoilers here though) but she does get the most famous song "I dreamed a dream", which no doubt all of you have heard a variety of takes on it, including this version from Glee.
Production News
Very few new films moving into pre-production this month, one can only assume that August with all the school holidays and festival planning it evokes has left Hollywood short on pencil pushers ticking boxes. That said the following productions all look worth seeing. There's Robert Redford's press ethics drama The Company you Keep, which will hopefully not be spoiled by Shia LaBeouf. Thematic sci-fi Adaline has come and gone before so it may just disappear again, naval adventure Here there be Dragons which almost certainly not be Robert Zemeckis' next film and the Bret Easton Ellis scripted Bait. Yet another film that casts sharks as the bad guys as a revenge seeking nerd feeds the yuppies to them.
Sharks just want top be loved, stop hating on them Hollywood.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Reading, Writing and Swapping Vegetables (Film News - 06/08/11)
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, 2 July 2011
Taking all that pain away (Film News - 02/07/11)
Not exactly a classical week for film news, given half of the stories I'm running with are retreads with slight updates of projects I mentioned just two weeks ago (both of which turn out to be biopics of musicians), nevertheless if the other two movies we mention in the main news get made rest assured they will be culturally significant enough to have them queuing round the block. I've also had a catch up on IMDb, looking for the latest developments on a number of projects we've mentioned here before and quite a few have entered the early production stages, which is all good news for film fans. So without further ado:
The Giver
Jeff Bridges has been repeatedly behind attempts to film Lois Lowry's Newberry Award winning 1993 novel for at least 15 years. Originally envisioning his father in the role of a sage within a Utopian future who alone has the knowledge of the true pain and pleasures of life Bridges now feels he is old enough to take the role himself so he and producer Nikki Silver has obtained the screen rights and are trying to put together cobble together funding. I doubt that will be a struggle, whilst I don't know the book it is a young adult sci-fi novel (see the cover below) - the protagonist is a 12 year old boy being trained to take over from "The Giver" - and the first of a trilogy which in these uncertain times with Harry Potter and the Twilight franchises about to end and The Hunger Games still untested could well be what's needed to keep some of the studios cash flow going.
On the other hand the book contains some very adult themes such as the suppression of emotions and the physical and psychological effects of puberty and even state-sponsored euthanasia. As well as some tricky visual constructs such as only the Giver being able to see colour.
In spite of these problematic sections I expect the funding will eventually be found, and the significant task of casting the 12 year-old Jonas will begin.
Read on for American heroes and two very diverse singers, as well as the latest casting stories and an update on which of the stories we run here actually happen.
American Can
Whilst a number of movies have skirted around the effects of Hurricane Katrina so far Hollywood has yet to confront the issue head-on (ignoring of course Spike Lee's excellent documentary When the Levees Broke) so it's refreshing to hear that Will Smith's production company is still pushing on this project so much the script is currently with Denzel Washington with the hope of Denzel taking the role - originally considered for the busy Smith - of ex-marine John Keller who helped take of the residents of the titular New Orleans apartment complex, ensuring the seven feet of flooding wasn't followed by a wave of looters.
Untitled Dave Van Ronk biopic
It seems the Coen brothers next movie will be based on the life of coffeehouse folk singer and political activist Dave van Ronk, whose legacy both as an artist and as a spotter of talent (he paved the way for Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell among others) is certainly significant. This ties up with the rumours of the single instrument music based movie and will be a sidestep and unique addition to their canon. Take a listen to van Ronk here:
Untitled Anita Lindblom biopic
Meanwhile Catherine Hardwicke has revealed her European jaunt will look at the turbulent relationship between Swedish singer Anita Lindblom and boxer Bosse Hogberg with Noomi Rapace on board as Anita. Unfortunately I cannot find anything other than Lindblom's music on the net so I know nothing else about the topic - so it could be intriguing. Take a listen to Lindblom here:
Casting News
We've got three major stars picking up some intriguing projects this week. Firstly Leonardo DiCaprio may be the washed up actor taking Beyonce under his wing in Clint Eastwood's Star is Born remake and Brad Pitt might be going into the South American jungles for The Mission, for the ladies Nicole Kidman is leading the field, somehow getting entangled with crime drama The Paperboy. We also heard this week David Strathairn will be joining Steven Spielberg's Lincoln as William Seward (hopefully getting more time than the unfortunate extra who took the role in The Conspirator).
Production News
I've been catching up with the latest production shifts, and there's an exciting range of films that we've already mentioned here on RunsLikeAGay which have entered the pre-production stage so we can hopefully look forward to seeing them at some point in the future.
First up I'd just like to welcome back James Foley's nativity reinvention Mary Mother of Christ, a project he's been trying to get underway for some time and which left IMDb earlier this year, only now o return. Also Paani - the sci-fi based on the premise of extreme water shortages - and The Wolverine both of which seemed to become mired in production woes.
We've also seen movement on Al Pacino's black (sex) comedy The Humbling, portmanteau picture Jayne Mansfield's Car, children's western The Lone Ranger and the Denzel Washington as a drunk commercial pilot movie Flight. Charles Dickens adaptation The Great Expectations is moving forward with BBC films, although I understand it may become a TV mini-series. The biopic of British explorer George Mallory is moving ahead as is Jason Statham vehicle Parker, Recession themed European movie Le Capital and - almost finally - lacrosse movie Crooked Arrows.
Balladem Om Marie
I'm actually going to end with this completely new project of which I had heard nothing until spotting it on IMDb. The Danish movie, set to be directed by Bille August (Pelle the Conqueror) looks at the relationship with renowned painter P.S. Krøyer and his long-suffering wife Marie who sticks by him through bouts of manic depression and psychotic rage. It sounds like the sort of high-class suffering that could get awards attention so look out for this in the 2013 foreign language Oscar race.
A self portrait of Krøyer with Marie.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Me Ben. You Reader. - (Film News - 04/06/11)
It's been a great week for film news, with some very unexpected stories catching my eye, and with sci-fi, romance, adventure and thrillers there's probably something for everyone in these stories. There have also been some exciting casting developments and the monthly look through imdb has revealed an unlikely trio of movies that weren't even on my radar. So please enjoy the read, and don't forget to let me know if any of these films appeal to you too.
Tarzan
It's been a while since Edgar Rice Burrough's 1914 novel has seen a new adaptation. 12 years since the Disney animation, 27 since the largely dismissed Hugh Hudson movie and of course 63 years since Johnny Weissmuller last donned the loincloth so it's hardly surprising that Warner Bros are dusting of the rights, believing we're due another look at the lost Earl of Greystoke.
Essentially a series of boy's own action adventure stories about an abandoned child with no adult contact with humans getting the full Victorian explorer craze full in the face. Partly a treatise for leaving the natural environment well alone it'll be an interesting to see what a post global warming look at the plot will highlight
Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Footloose) is set to direct what has been described as a passion piece for him, with an eye to making a franchise trilogy should the first film do well. Either way I;m sure we'll get some jungle action soon. Everybody grab hold of a vine and do your best "Aaaa-aaa-aaargh".
Weissmuller was never happier than when just hanging out in a tree.
Read on for computer chips, iconic love stories, media frenzies, more pirates and secrets in our past as well as the weekly round-up of casting news and the monthly check on imdb pre-production lists.
Ecstasia
A few months ago Wayne Kramer was attached to the Sylvester Stallone assassin film Headshot (which is in no way connected to Stallone's Assassins) and things seemed to be going swimmingly until out of the blue Kramer left for 'creative differences' and Walter Hill was brought on board. At the time reports said that Kramer had something else in the works which would be easy to get funding for so na na nah-na naa. This week we heard his next project, which doesn't sound at all easy to get funding for, will be a sci-fi romance set in a alternative future where love can only be obtained through via a prohibitively expensive implanted chip (the title). The plot will follow a couple who go to desperate measures to obtain a chip. There are more questions than answers in that summary - for instance if they want a chip why do they need one? - but I am curious how Kramer, working from his own script, will build a world where that seems plausible. 
Furious Love
Those of you with long memories will remember we first mentioned the relationship biopic of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in July last year, based in part on Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger's book (left). Back then there were quite a few names in the frame for the cast but plans were still very sketchy. Now Liz is no longer with us the impetus to make the movie seems to have increased with the news that Martin Scorsese is interested in directing. That's a bizarre twist I doubt anyone would have predicted, but then who would of thought he'd be making a children's film in 3D and the Hollywood lore aspect of the story almost certainly appeals to Marty. That said I think I'd rather see his Silence first.
Panic Attack
OK, calm down. Just a week after the red band trailer for the US Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake has been 'leaked' onto the net director David Fincher has kept himself in the headlines by optioning Jason Starr's 2009 crime novel. The story concerns a psychiatrist who kills an intruder and must face the media frenzy that results and the victim's partner in crime out for revenge. Ultimately we're looking at a Cape Fear type cat and mouse game and the sort of stuff Fincher could do in his sleep, although you have to ask whether it's far enough apart from the Dragon Tattoo's dark and macabre central conceit to really interest him as a director.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5
Now it's time to panic, as Disney are convinced there is a public appetite for a fifth Pirates movie (ignoring it's domestic gross will probably be around $100m less than the previous installment) and already the wheels are in motion to recruit Rob Marshall back into the directors chair - on the off chance that fails they've also got a long list of other directors they're willing to contact including Tim Burton, Sam Raimi and Alfonso Cuaron. Of course it's all down to Depp (right) if he stays on then I can't imagine the studios turning away the licence to print money so "please please please Johnny just give it up and walk away; this franchise is killing all of our brains".
Safe Haven
Fans of unadventurous middle America literature be warned Lasse Hallstrom is set to have another crack at a Nicolas Sparks novel (left) following the reasonable profits from two hanky movie Dear John. This time an audience surrogate with a dark secret moves into a North Carolina town and falls for a store-owning widower. Expect difficult choices and tearful reconciliations and absolutely no-one really caring about the characters.
Casting News
News on the casting front has been a little more interesting this week, starting with the delicious prospect of Leonardo DiCaprio joining Tarantino's Django Unchained as the evil plantation owner holding Will Smith's wife as a slave. Amy Adams and Laura Dern are both up for a bit of fundamentalism in Paul Thomas Anderson upcoming project about creating a religion.
Production News
It's that time in the month when we look through imdb to find which of the delicious stories mentioned here has swung into production, potentially threatening a real movie at the end of it. The top line good news is that there are now 20 films that would qualify for the 20 for 2012 countdown for next year - yes we're already thinking about it. Naturally many of those will fall by the wayside (5 will potentially move into this year including Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Little Red Wagon, numbers 1 and 20 respectively) but it's a good sign that next year could see a load of really interesting stuff on the horizon. This month we've seen movement on Steven Spielberg's Lincoln biopic, motorcycling epic The Place Beyond the Pines, mother/daughter vampire picture Byzantium, Danny Boyle's quickie arts heist movie Trance, Florida murder mystery The Paperboy (Much discussed at Cannes) and Channing Tatum will get nekkid as Magic Mike. We'll see paperback pygmalian He Loves Me, Michel Gondry's kids flick The We and the I, Texas-set thriller Borderline and 3D erotica Io e Te.
Of course a month wouldn't go down properly if there weren't some titles that surprised me, coming out of nowhere. So here, in no particular order, are three brand new projects which I am curious about seeing.
Charlie Irish
The least likely of the films to actually make it into a final product is this Steven Feder script about a maths prodigy who uses his skills to create unbeatable algorithms to predict sports results and thus clear up. Allegedly based on a true story this seems like a one man retread of 21 without boring card game scenes. Currently Barry Levinson's attached to direct but with Gotti: three generations also on the horizon expect this to be dropped soon.
Saving Seymour
Allegedly based on a book, although I can't for the life of me find a novel with that title, the main reason I'm curious about this adaptation is Jerry Stiller, Mr. Pinky from the Hairspray musical will play the title role, and it's always great to see a character actor get the limelight later in life (he's 84 this week).
Whisperings and Lies
Biopic of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. Few can argue with the immense talent (and immense hands) of one of the most influential musicians of the 19th/20th century, his works including the brutal and complex piano symphonies speak for themselves. As a man he is fascinating, spent most of his life battling depression and arthritis, as well as spending most of his adult life in America, escaping from the Russian Revolution. There is no doubt that a look at his life and works will be an important addition to the canon of Classical music biopics, although quite what direction this film will take is unclear. The description hints to taking his story up from after his death (secrets he took to the grave) and the only cast member attached is Abbie Cornish, who whilst very talented could not make a credible Sergei.
Rachmaninoff's work has made it to cinemas before, most notably the Piano Concerto No. 3 which sends Noah Taylor (as a young David Helfgott) over the edge in Shine above.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Public Enemy Number 1 (Film News - 07/05/11)
It's been a strange week. On the one hand the non film related news completely dominated everywhere you looked from the defeat of AV and the local election results in the UK - as interesting as they were it's not as big as a general election so I didn't get into it as much as last year, apart from the AV vote the most significant impact was the Scottish National Party taking a majority in Scotland so we may expect a Referendum for Scottish independence at some point in the next 5 years - to the fallout from Bin Ladens death. Oddly that brings me on to my first piece of film news:
Kill Bin Laden
It didn't take 24 hours following the "execution" of Osama Bin Laden (note we are still a long way from finding out the facts about that day, I suspect we never will, I hope every effort was made to capture Bin Laden alive and to bring him to trial and it is unfortunate that in the heat of the moment he was killed. Of course with the continued pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the Middle East I think we can say that Bin Laden largely failed in his efforts to create a third world war - democratic Islam will succeed) before Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon. To be fair Kathryn Bigelow and her Hurt Locker scribe Mark Boal had already put together the elements for this as a quickie to film whilst waiting for location work for Triple Frontier to be completed. Of course the end of the movie, which is set to star Joel Edgerton, may now have to be changed but I doubt there's going to be much revision.
I would question whether it's worth doing. Whilst Bin Laden (below) was alive a film about the Coalition obsession with a middle aged figurehead and their fruitless attempts to locate him might have been darkly satirical and politically on-the-nose. Now it feels like jingoism. 
What do you think? Should we see a movie that depicts the chase? What will the world think of a film that seemingly approves of his demise? Feel free to comment.
Read on for a very bad day, high school shenanigans, crime bosses, , art heists, New York musicals as well as a whole load of castings and a look at what's started production.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
With a plot that sounds much like Virginia Woolfe's Mrs Dalloway - we follow a character throughout their day where nothing particularly extraordinary happens - Judith Viorst's 1972 children's book (left) about the eponymous Alexander and his endless trials and tribulations has a huge following in America (it's not one that's endured as a classic elsewhere) so it's no surprise to see it's eventual adaptation into a live action big screen adventure. I'm curious to see what they do with it - the stakes appear a little low for a movie - although we can hope a modern children's classic can be the result there really aren't enough of them these days. 
Bitch Posse
Whilst on the subject of films that are clearly not being made with me in mind Martha O'Connor's coming of age drama (left) is set to take the leap to celluloid courtesy of Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke. I know what you're thinking - Ben you hated Red Riding Hood what makes you think she can direct a decent film? - well the thing is this reminds me a lot of the basic premise of her Thirteen which really captured the difficulties of passing through teenage years unscathed by peer pressure. Bitch Posse concerns a group of teens from broken homes who form a group to support each other, but it all becomes dark and obsessive before a terrible incident splits them apart for 20 years.
Gotti: 3 Generations
I've kind of been avoiding this bizarre combination of John Travolta (and family), Joe Pesci and Lindsay Lohan in the epic look at the New York Crime family over several (um, 3) generations partly because I erroneously thought it was a TV project. So several weeks into production, with the directorial chair being taken over by Barry Levinson who has form with true life gangsters (Bugsy, 1991), I've started to tune into it. As an audience we have a long-time love affair with the gangster so there's little doubt this will succeed, my only hope is that Levinson manages to rein in the excesses that both Travolta and Pesci are capable of.
How I Live Now
Kevin Macdonald, who's currently licking his wounds after the critical and commercial backlash from The Eagle is in desperate need for a hit. Odd then that he's going to young adult fiction for inspiration. Tony Grisoni and Jeremy Brock will be adapting Meg Rosoff's novel (left) about a 15 year old New Yorker visiting Britain, falling for her cousin and becoming separated from news of her family due to war (a fake war I feel the need to point out, although it would be something if the UK and USA were cut off during war, something not even the Nazi's could do). The project will be shopped at Cannes later this month. Look out for a frantic and vaguely familiar search for a leading actress towards the end of the year.
Trance
You might think Danny Boyle wouldn't have time to make a movie right now, what with the National Theatre production of Frankenstein doing so well under his direction and only just over a year before the London Olympic opening ceremony (I'm still waiting for the call to be a blue triangle), however he's going to squeeze in a quick picture in the interim. We know next to nothing about the project right now, other than it's about an art heist that goes wrong leading to dark unpredictable consequences for the protagonists, Michael Fassbender may star, and Christian Coulson will be producing for his third collaboration with Boyle in a row. Certainly one to keep an eye on, but don't expect to see the final picture until 2013 at the earliest. And Danny, I've got all the moves sorted, please call.
Untitled Baz Luhrmann Project
Although he's pretty much committed to The Great Gatsby adaptation - although maybe not with 3D - Baz has still been chatting to MTV as part of his 10 year Moulin Rouge celebrations during which he slipped some other details of his other competing project. Frankly not much detail though. Essentially all we know is it's based in New York in the 1970's and whilst not a musical will strongly use the music from the period to create ambience. So nothing really, but I thought you'd like to know. Personally I had images in my head of Odyssey so I'm going to share:
Casting News
There have been the usual rounds of casting calls for this week. Some like Nicole Kidman seriously considering Our Wild Life are very exciting, others like Roberto Benigni possibly taking a role in Woody Allen's Rome adventure The Wrong Picture (note the confirmed title) are fascinating but probably won't significantly affect my likelihood of watching the movie. We've also heard Laura Linney is set to join Hyde Park in Hudson as FDR's cousin, Rachel Weisz will be a wicked witch in Oz, the Great and Powerful and Quentin Tarantino is pushing for Will Smith in his forthcoming Western Django Unchained. Finally there has been a torrent of casting on Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, joining Daniel Day-Lewis as honest Abe and Sally Field as Mary Todd will be Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook and John Hawkes, meaning it's going to be one of the most exciting casts of next year - can't wait.
Production News
In my monthly ferret around imdb I found loads of films we've already mentioned here that are now showing up within the pre-production of development. The darkly comic duo of The Games they Play (set at a dinner party) and Bumped (in an airport) have returned to the database following an unexplained absence, as has Paul Thomas Anderson's religious drama The Master and the faux documentary about the Zombie Apocalypse World War Z. The Wrong Picture, Gotti: 3 Generations, Django Unchained (although oddly with a working title) and How I live Now have all merited mentions elsewhere in the news. Which leaves only Ben Affleck's CIA masquerading as movie makers picture Argo.
Chemins de l'Orgeuil
Oh and this little movie from A Man and a Woman director Claude Lelouch. Frankly it's been a while since one of his films made it across the channel but fingers crossed. Details are a bit sketchy right now. It's listed on imdb as an Adventure Comedy and the title translates to "Paths of Pride".
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Is the tide about to turn? (Film News - 02/04/11)
It's an odd week to be writing up, very little on the news front that could possibly excite anyone. That said I was interested in an unusual box office related piece which taken in conjunction with one film that I was planning to bury after the jump makes a fascinating leader.
Untitled Yang Guifei project
Or why Hollywood may stop being the Holiday destination for talent.
At CinemaCon's annual conference for U.S. theatre owners an interesting statistic was dominating the first day. Warner Bros. noted a 65% expansion in the Chinese Film Market in 2010, and with 3 new screens opening every day on average the total take in China is likely to outstrip the U.S. within the decade. Given the pummelling the U.S. box office is getting at the moment this could come sooner than they project. Overall studios will therefore need to be more mindful of the potential of overseas, especially Chinese, exports.
At present there's a strict quota on American films shown in China but whilst the Communist government is planning to relax that it will take more to persuade the audiences to switch to non-homegrown talent. Just look at France which still enjoys a thriving market for French produced films. As audiences and box office take increase the knock on effect will be an increase in budgets for Chinese films. With increasing budgets comes increasing salaries and before you know it everyone wants to work for the Chinese film industry.
Which brings me to the second story - it has already started. Antoine Fuqua, the very American director of Training Day and Shooter has been recruited to direct a tragic period epic about the relationship between the 8th Century Emperor Xuanzong and of the four most celebrated beauties of ancient China Yang Guifei. It's an immensely popular story in China, celebrated in poetry, art (like the example below) and opera over the years and it will certainly be a challenge to bring it to the silver screen.
With a budget of 200m Yuan (about $30m) it will add considerable international cachet to both the project and Fuqua which could substantially improve it's international box office potential. Whether Fuqua is the right (most subtle) person for the job is another question, as is the delayed Tupac Shakur biopic which he was due to film this summer.
Whatever happens though this is definitely something to watch out for.
Read on for Zombies taking over the world (if they can get the money) and politically challenging women (being fought over by men). Plus the latest casting news and round up of new projects kicking off production.
World War Z
Those of you who thought the big screen adaptation of Max Brooks' excellent Zombie Apocalypse novel was dead in the water (excuse the pun) fear not as funding discussions between Paramount and other studios in order to get together enough money to do it justice. The bad news is that they obviously think they need a lot of money to do it justice - given that the unique selling point of the book is that it's all done in interviews which shouldn't need much cash at all that makes me think it will be a lot more expansive and - potentially - rubbish.
Untitled Gertude Bell biopic
British minor aristocracy meddling in the Middle East seem to be the order of the day at the moment. A few weeks ago we looked at the potential biopic of Lady Hester Stanhope and today it's Gertrude Bell CBE (above), the archaeologist, writer and all-round good egg. Active on behalf of the British Government during the First World War she is credited, along with T.E. Lawrence of uniting the Arab tribes in order to fight the Ottoman Empire. After the way her work was instrumental in establishing what is now Iraq. Ridley Scott is saying he wants to direct a film of her life (cannily mixing the proto-feminism of Thelma and Louise with the geopolitical knowledge of Kingdom of Heaven) but he'll have to duke it out with Werner Herzog who's been planning a film of her life for many years. Now that's a celebrity death match I'd pay to see, my money's on Herzog getting out of the gate first after all Scott's already linked to about a dozen other projects.
Casting News
The biggest casting story this week is for Roger Michell's Hyde Park on Hudson, which we briefly discussed last week, not that we have a replacement Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter (as the British royals on a jolly to the States) but Bill Murray has signed on as Franklin D. Roosevelt. Superb casting there, both with the look and the mix of humour and gravitas that only Murray can bring to the screen. We're on cameo alert with the confirmation that Johnny Depp will paint a little in Martin Scorcese's Hugo Cabret and the latest potential obligatory Avengers trailer for Thor which might be Jeremy Renner in full Hawkeye mode, which at least makes more sense than Samuel L.'s Nick Fury who we've met before (I still doubt it's necessary). Talking of Renner some websites have been reporting he's close to being announced as Matt Damon's replacement for The Bourne Legacy. I doubt that's true - wouldn't the character be just a bit too close to his Mission: Impossible franchise-stealing Brandt.
Production News
I've been on IMDb again. So sue me. The following projects, all of which we've mentioned before, have kicked off the production process: TV to movie adaptation The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Ski dramedy Woodchucks, Monk Meditation Silence and the Anjelina Jolie version of Cleopatra (now with David Fincher rumoured as director). This is on top of Hype Park on Hudson and the Yang Guifei project mentioned above.
The following, though, I had never heard of until I checked this week.
Bumped
Well, it existed yesterday, but it's already been pulled into obscurity (in development) on IMDb. I know nothing but it's a comedy called "Bumped" from the director of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Man of the House so could be great fun or utterly dreadful.
Castro's Daughter
A biopic of Alina Fernandez, the exiled daughter of Fidel Castro (natch), who fled Cuba in 1993 (disguised as a bewigged Spanish tourist). Since then she's written a tell-all autobiography (below) and now hosts a Miami based radio programme which looks at Cuban politics. It's unlikely to be completely balanced.
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Future Oscar Bait (Film News - 05/03/11)
This week the film headlines have been dominated by the Oscars (congrats to everyone involved with The King's Speech - really must get round to watching it) and by Charlie Sheen's continuous breakdown however slinking underneath the headlines have been a number of projects discussed which may be worth keeping an eye on.
Boys in the Boat
The Weinstein Company is having a very good week - see my comments above - so obviously they're already on the way to planning for future Oscars. As it is with this historical movie set on the eve of the Second World War, focusing on the US Olympic crew who defied the will of Adolf Hitler and his aryan rowers (pictured passing the winning post below). Hoo-rah! 
Bizarrely all Harvey has paid for is the rights to a book treatment that isn't even finished by David James Brown, so expect a very very long wait until this gets made.
At the moment Kenneth Branagh is linked to direct but luckily he has cancer-ridden drama Italian Shoes with Anthony Hopkins on his slate first.
Read on for returning boxers, drinking buddies, classic literature, a Job story, a project that worries me, flowers and Quentin Tarantino as well as all the latest production news fit to print.
Fighter 2
Whilst working the red carpet last Sunday Mark Wahlberg (left) made references to a potnetial sequel to the oscar winning boxing movie. Likely to focus on Mickey Ward's three bouts with Arturo Gatti. I really am amazingly uninterested in seeing this happen, but if it does they really need to think of a better way to film the boxing segments.
Honeymoon with Harry
The drama about an alcoholic groom who's fiancee dies so he goes on the honeymoon with his not quite father-in-law is back on track with Jenny Lumet giving the script a polish before passing it on to director Jonathon Demme. The pair have worked wonders with dramedy before in 2008's Rachel Getting Married.
Hunchback of Notre Dame
We haven't had a major live action version of Victor Hugo's classic monster romance for many years so it's no surprise to hear Josh Brolin is trying to get the talent together to make a new version. So far he has Sherlock Holmes 2 scriptwriters Michele and Kieran Mulroney and he's looking to entice Tim Burton to he directors chair. I am concerned about the potential tone of this adapatation given the diverse perspectives but it will be good to see Brolin swinging from the bells screaming for Esmerelda. That's Charles Laughton on our right taking the role in 1936 - don't expect Brolin to mess with the formula too much.
Joe
Apparantly The Coen Brother's A Single Man wasn't close enough to the Biblical Job for Will Smith so he's signed up to a modern retelling which starts with the premise that God and Satan are fighting over a man's soul. Smith will star as the titular put upon hero who will lose his wealth, health and family in what the writers (Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson of The Fighter) claim is a comedy.
O.K.C.
We're on dodgy territory here. Barry Levinson is set to make a low-budget film about Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh using a script by Clay World (who's brother was on McVeigh's defence team). This could be an interesting artsy look at why a seemingly well-adjusted adult commits such a horrific crime, or it could become a extraordinary attempt to belatedly clear McVeigh's name, or at least shift the blame onto extremists groups - a possibility that would be offensive to the families of those who were killed or injured as a result of his attack.
Tulip Fever
The temptation to put this long-gestating British movie at the top of todays headlines was high, but that would have made three weeks in a row leading with Tom Hooper rumours and I don't want to be seen as rubbing it in. Effectively trailed by Gordon Gekko in Wall Street 2 Deborah Moggach's novel is set against the trading on tulip bulbs in 17th century Holland - althugh it's essentially a love story between a penniless artists and a married woman. It has been close to being made a couple of times - in 2004 the cameras were set to roll when funding collapsed (somewhat aptly) - but given the currently financial mess we're in I doubt it could be more prescient.
Tulips in Amsterdam (see background windmill) pictured.
Untitled Quentin Tarantino Western
Quentin's seen how well True Grit has done commercially and seems t have decided the time is ripe for his spagetti western. I wasn't a fan of Inglorious Basterds but I think his excess and asthetic could work in a Wild West setting. Christoph Waltz and Franco Nero are among those already getting calls from the auteur.
Production News
Whilst trawling through IMDb this week there are a shocking number of projects that have kicked into gear over the last month, far more than you would expect to see in a single month. In fact just try to imagine 16 films you want to see all opening in one month - doesn't bare thinking about. So production has begun on gambling biopic Lay the Favourite, writer's block tale Third Act and Lasse Hallstrom kicked off on both Swedish crime thriller The Hypnotist and transgender drama The Danish Girl. Returning to forthcoming schedules (having disappeared for a short while) are Lee Daniels's civil rights movie Selma, Great Hope Springs with Meryl Streep and the Al Pacino version of King Lear. There's also tough family drama Back Roads, sci-fi tinged romance Adaline, literary adaptation The Great Gatsby (which I still don't understand why Baz Luhrmann wants to shoot in 3D), young adult adaptation The Graveyard Book and football drama Les Seigneurs. For action fans there's Headshot and Bourne Legacy and for music fans there's yet to be titled biopics about Mahalia Jackson and Tupac Shakur.
Whew! There are a couple more which turned up of which I had no previous idea they even existed. As follows:
El Chico Blanco
Drama about two friends who take different paths with one joining the police and the other choosing crime and eventually become mortal enemies. Oddly just writing that seems terribly passe, but I was strangely drawn when I heard it was written by Twilight actor Peter Facinelli.
Whole Lotta Sole
British comedy - steady - about a robbery in a Belfast fish market (hence the pun filled title) that goes horribly wrong. Brendan Fraser and Sophie Okonedo are set to be two of the hotchpotch selection of hostages. Possibly set in the market pictured below...
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Dinner fit for a bride (Film News - 05/02/11)
There's been some interesting headlines this week with a couple of new titles coming our way which look very watchable, in fact the beauty of my first title is it will provide casting opportunities to hundreds. This is on top of the usual rounds of casting rumours and our monthly check of upcoming movies on imdb.
Great Expectations
If watching Derek Jacobi intone a few lines of Little Dorrit in the third act of Hereafter made you salivate for more Charles Dickens then you're in luck. It's looking like a version of his classic tale of class envy and redemptive guilt is set to make a foray into the big screen. Naturally this isn't the first time Pip, Magwitch and Miss Haversham have been in cinemas, most notably in the 1946 David Lean version with John Mills, Finlay Currie and Martita Hunt in those memorable roles.
I won't go into the plot details here, like all Dicken's it's long and meandering and with characters disappearing and reappearing with alarming regularity. There are also some magical moments of descriptive writing including fog shrouded escaped convicts and uneaten wedding cakes that could easily become iconic shots from the film.
The key thing is to try to imagine the casting. It's a film that practically begs for the brightest and best of British acting talent to be assembled. I'm saying Andrew Garfield for Pip and Helen Mirren as Miss Haversham. You heard it here first. Any casting ideas you have?
An early illustration of Miss Haversham's Wedding feast.
Read on for an unlikely true story, an surprising director says his next film will be an epic and the usual News segments.
Argo
The hunt for Ben Affleck's next directorial task continues with this bizarre true-life tale set to be produced by Men who Stare at Goats colleagues George Clooney and Grant Heslov. Like Goats it's an expose on one of the weirder moments in US military history focusing on the CIA operation to release the American Embassy hostages in 1979. Their ultimate plan involved disguising the operatives as a film crew scouting for locations. Whether Affleck can produce the satirical edge a project like this might need remains to be seen but if he pulls it off this could be hilarious.
Place beyond the Pines
Derek Cianfrance has been talking up his follow up to Blue Valentine to almost epic proportions. In an interview with indiewire he used terms like "the transformative power of fatherhood", "a Darwinistic idea of survival through ancestry" and (if that wasn't enough "I’ve had people tell me they feel like its ‘The Deer Hunter’ meets ‘The Godfather." Proof that he's certainly willing to enthuse about the project. The story focuses on a motorcycle stunt driver (Ryan Gosling's already practising in Cage's of death like this one to our right) who has to learn how to be a father and will cross generations. If it taps into even half as much honest human emotion as his latest then it will definitely be one to watch.
Casting News
The usual suspects have been hogging the casting rumours with Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes both close to signing on for Bond 23 - which could just become the starriest Bond ever - and Eva Green and Jackie Earle Haley may be hiding in Tim Burton's Dark Shadows. Robin Williams continues to be a possibility for Hugo Strange in Dark Knight Rises, although the main issue seems to be are three villains too many for the film to cope with. David O. Russell may be inviting Amy Adams back for his next project, the big screen adaptation of Playstation 3 game Uncharted: Drake's Progress although Scarlett Johannsson is another name in the mix. Finally Samuel L. Jackson has surprised nobody by exclusively revealing he'll cameo in Thor, frankly I was surprised when it was rumoured he wasn't going to.
Production News
Every month I like to update on the latest films moving into the pre-production stage, essentially as a way of monitoring which of the stories I've previously covered have actually come to fruition. This time we're seeing movement on David Cronenberg's limousine set thriller Cosmopolis, 60's crimecaper remake Gambit, hyperlink love story 360, and big budget big effects movies The Wolverine, Prometheus, Oz, Th Great and Powerful and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. The last four of which are bound for box office glory if nothing else. One movie though caught my eye even though I hadn't imagined it would.
Playing the Field
Gerard Butler obviously believes he's a big star, and I expect the studios think the same, why else would he continue to get high profile roles. So to follow his "acting" turn in Machine Gun Preacher there will be this black comedy about a soccer coach working his way through the Mums from his son's team. Whilst this doesn't scream high quality there's something intriguing about the notion and I expect they'll be some fun to be had when they start joining the dots. 
You get some very odd results if you search for Soccer Moms on google, but this pic's relatively tame. Apparently there's a whole subculture relating to the term. Anyone want to clue me up on it?
