Happy Birthday to
Melanie Griffith
54 today
Daughter of Hitchcock fave Tippi Hedron and married to Antonio Banderas since 1996 it's no surprise that Griffith is an actress - best remembered for big hair and throaty delivery in Working Girl. That said she hasn't appeared in anything remotely watchable since Woody Allen's Celebrity in 1998, such a shame.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Melanie Griffith
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Running (07/08/11)
No time to chat - just got from my half marathon training run (fairly good) and need to shower then rush out for rehearsal. Bought train ticket for Nottingham today as well - getting exciting and close with just five weeks to go.
5 runs
34.2 miles
4 hours 36 minutes
So that's an average speed of 7.43 mph
Michael Shannon
Happy Birthday to
Michael Shannon
37 today
Michael is a stage trained actor who's transition to movies has been mainly due to two of three films that showcased his wide ranging abilities - just watch Bug where he reprises his stage performance to great effect. Coming up soon is an as yet unnamed role with Gerard Butler in Machine Gun Preacher, I guess we'll know more after Toronto.
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. 
Vera Farmiga
Happy Birthday to
Vera Farmiga
38 today
At one point Vera was a best-kept secret of Hollywood, flying under the radar she put in some stunning performances on the periphery of major cinematic success, all that should have changed with her superb performance in Jason Reitman's Up in The Air, however it's good to see that Vera has taken an assured post Oscar nomination career mixing interesting indie work with auteurish mainstream and finding time for her directorial debut (Higher Ground) as well as having a baby. I hope to see her again soon though.
Friday, 5 August 2011
They Don't Make 'em like they Used to (Out this week - 05/08/11)
I equally could've have titled this post as "It's all so quiet" due to the amazing lack of films being released. With just five features, excluding docs, you would've though the choice of what to watch would be relatively easy, however low volumes also means the probability of a high scoring (on the runs like a gay excitometer) release is lower and this week we see three films battling for the top spot. In the end though it go to 80's throwback Super 8.
Super 8
J.J. Abrams channels his inner Spielberg with this paean to a bygone age of teens messing around with film equipment and bumping into monsters. US reviews and box office performance was solid rather than spectacular, however this should rekindle buried memories and provide a bit of harmless nostalgia as well as the obligatory summer action highs.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Sarah's Key
French hangwringing about collaboration with the Nazis is de rigeur these days with the second film to confront the deportation of Jews from Paris this year (after Round Up). Kristin Scott Thomas is the familiar face this time, and the plotting, which alternates between wartime and now seems unusual at least.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
The Tree
More oscar bait weepiness with Charlotte Gainsbourg as a grieving widow, her daughter who's convinced her Father's soul is protecting her from within a nearby tree and the plummer that enters their life. Elegant but probably missable.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Jim Carrey continues his long long walk to the loneliness of direct to DVD movies with this inoffensive but dull looking adaptation of the well known children's book. You wouldn't know it from the trailer but Angela Lansbury co-stars.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Do Aur Do Paanch
Bollywood action comedy about two rival kidnappers who select the same target and ends up spoiling both their plans. Oddly they choose to kidnap a young girl from school which does give this a fairly unpleasant whiff about it.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Billy Bob Thornton
Happy Birthday to
Billy Bob Thornton
56 today
Obtuse and erratic, Billy Bob may be one of the most unusual people in Hollywood, slipping randomly between different styles of projects he occasionally comes across something very enticing. Right now I'm most looking forward to his next directorial effort Jayne Mansfield's Car.
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Tuesday Trailers - Warrior
I honestly believe I may be the only person looking forward to this film. Even with just over a month to go before it slips into cinemas the internet buzz is surprisingly slight, and I've only seen one magazine article about it, but as I said way back when the idea of a mixed martial arts movie was first mooted by Gavin O'Connor this seems like an ideal opportunity to barely conceal inappropriate thoughts about some sexy guys. Now we know it's Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton I'm not sure how anyone can argue with that.
Warrior is released on 23 September 2011.
Monday, 1 August 2011
Giancarlo Giannini
Happy birthday to
Giancarlo Giannini
69 today
I've just had a little episode preparing to celebrate Giancarlo's birthday when I nearly downloaded the picture from the last time we went there. Back to the reason we're here though... The Oscar nominated Italian has a fascinating back catalgue in many fields of film production, including as an actor, director and writer - he's also noted for his multi-lingual performances. Nothing coming up that's really jumping out at me though.
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