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.

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Amnesia again (Film News - 06/11/10)

It's not been the busiest week for news, only a couple of new projects kicking off, but there has been an avalanche of casting rumours and with our monthly scour of IMDb there are a load more potential movies that have begun the production process.

Trap for Cinderella

Loss of memory has been a plot standby of thrillers since cinema began, no matter how unlikely it actually is it's amazingly how many characters wake up next to a corpse with no idea of how they got there. So whilst this latest take on the subgenre may lack originality it's good to see it's going to be taken seriously.

Iain Softley is directing and producing this production which sees it's main character (Micky) wake up terribly burned after a house fire in which her childhood friend (Do) has been killed. But is Micky really Do and is she really involved in the attempted murder of herself. Or something like that.

Sure this sounds like first class tosh, but we're a little short on new films this week so bare with me.


I'm not completely sure how Cinderella is involved with this story. I suspect there's a major subplot I've not picked up on yet...

Read on for recurring nightmares and literally half a dozen casting moves.



Darkchylde

John Carpenter may have spent the last eight years or so hiding in a box (I know that isn't true but he may as well have been) but it seems he's returned with a new vigour. The Ward, his latest horror, is set to hit cinemas early in the new year and he's also signed up for this comic book adaptation. It concerns the recurring nightmares of Ariel Chylde (pictured right, I don't think this is a comic for kids), nightmares about strange demonic beasts, and nightmares that reach a whole new level when she begins to transform into the beasts during the day times.

I don't know whether this is part of a planned franchise or a stand alone movie but expect Ariel to be investigating the background of the creatures whilst fighting for control of her own psyche.

Casting News

I said it was mainly casting didn't I? So the latest dogged rumours are as follows: both Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck are interested in reuniting with Jesse James director Andrew Dominik for his next crime thriller, now entitled Cogan's Child, the hunt for the next batman female lead goes on with Charlize Theron and Vera Farmiga both in talks with Christopher Nolan, the long list for Daisy in Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby with Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams all in contention, the follow up to Valentine's Day (New Years Eve) does have a growing cast list including Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin and Reese Witherspoon - but why does that seem such a boring trio of actresses, Judi Dench is apparently due to snog Johnny Depp in a Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides cameo and Francis Ford Coppola's horror project, Twixt now and sunrise, is picking up more names with Alden Ehrenreich and David Paymer both linked.


Depp wonders which way to tip his head when kissing Dame Judi.

Production News

And if all those castings weren't enough here's a long line of new films that have kicked into production (most of which we already knew about). Francis Ford Coppola gets his second mention of the post as Twixt now and Sunrise is not only in production but already filming. Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo and Garry Marhall's New Year's Eve have finally shifted from in development to pre production (even though they both already had release dates). World War 2 Native American story Bless Me, Ultima has started filming, Bryan Singer is moving on with Jack the Giant Killer, The Hobbit (parts 1 and 2) look like they will be happening soon, filming has begun on The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Spielberg has decided that his next project will be Robopocalypse and James Cameron is putting all of his efforts into Avatar 2 and Avatar 3.

The following two movies were surprises though when I looked them up:

Ghost of Munich

Milos Forman (One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) has been mulling over adapting Georges-Marc Benamou's novel about a postwar journalist's investigation into the 1939 Munich conference (famously attended by Hitler and Neville Chamberlain) for several years so it's a pleasant surprise to see it's back on his things to do list.

Too Big to Fail

I originally thought this look at the collapse of the banking system was going to be made for TV, hence I ignored the earlier news stories, but looking at the details it looks like a cinematic release may be on the cards. With Curtis Hanson directing a cast that includes James Woods, Michael O'Keefe, Paul Giamatti and William Hurt that has to be a good thing.



Wall Street financial markets - collapse not included.

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