Wha? Bryan Singer and Tom Cruise’s flop Valkyre is actually good?!
August 8, 2008
It’s a pretty incredible story, and even though the concentration camps aren’t a part of the movie, you think about it in almost every scene- the knowledge of what these monsters did.
That’s Valkyrie. Everyone clapped, and we were all pretty floored. I think Bryan Singer did a bang-up job making an intense, well-written and acted flick. One other thing I wanted to mention was the accurate use of German Luftwaffe aircraft of the period, which was very cool. I’ll probably see it again once it comes out, and hopefully it will be trimmed down a little, but it’s worth seeing.
- from AICN
Seth Green Talks ‘The Freshmen’ Movie — And Why It Won’t Be ‘Mystery Men’
August 8, 2008
Seth Rogen: The Happiest Man On Earth?
August 8, 2008
First Look at Adam Sandler in Bedtime Stories
August 8, 2008
An adventure comedy starring Adam Sandler as Skeeter Bronson, a hotel handyman whose life is changed forever when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to mysteriously come true. He attempts to take advantage of the phenomenon, incorporating his own aspirations into one outlandish tale after another, but it’s the kids’ unexpected contributions that turn Skeeter’s life upside down.
Sony Quickly Hires Two Writers for Flash Gordon Reboot
August 8, 2008
Back in May we reported that director Breck Eisner would be bringing back Flash Gordon in another reboot of a classic franchise. It may not exactly be a reboot, per se, but considering that’s the latest buzz word in Hollywood, I’ll use it for now. Screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless will pen the screenplay based primarily on Alex Raymond’s original comic strip that first debuted in the 1930s. Of course, most will also remember the 1980 film starring Sam J. Jones and Max von Sydow that recently got its own re-release on DVD. Considering no one has really ever demanded the return of Flash Gordon in any form, I’m not entirely I’m excited for this reboot just yet. Is anyone excited for this?
- from Firstshowing
‘Up’ And Coming: 3-D Pixar Movie Tells A ‘Coming Of Old Age’ Story
August 8, 2008
At their heart, most of Pixar’s films are about connecting: a father with his son in “Finding Nemo,” a hero with his family in “The Incredibles,” a little robot with the whole universe in “Wall-E.”
Pixar’s newest film, “Up,” came from a desire to do the exact opposite, director Pete Docter said.
“Basically, I’m not a guy that loves being around people all day. There’s times where I just need to get away. This film is born of that feeling,” Docter told MTV News. “Sometimes, you just need to get away from everything.”
For 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), the geriatric hero of “Up,” that desire is manifested quite literally in an early scene, when he hooks hundreds of helium balloons to his house and soaring off through the skies to find a little peace and quiet among the clouds.
It’s a last-ditch effort for an aging man to make good on a promise he once made to his dead wife, who always wanted to see the mountains of South America but never could.
And if you buy that sequence, you’ll buy the whole film, Docter said, including scenes when Carl battles terrifying villains and creatures alongside a 9-year-old Boy Scout named Russell (who has stowed away for the ride in order to earn his “Help the Elderly” badge) when he finally touches down.
“Carl used to be a balloon salesman, and so when the outside world is going to take his house, he ties all his surplus balloons, fills them with helium, and floats his entire house up into the sky off to South America — that’s the image of the film,” Docter said. “It kind of defies description, because it’s moving, it’s emotional, it’s active, but it’s weirdly poetic and doesn’t make a lot of logical sense. And yet it’s really the cornerstone of the film.”
- from MTV
David Goyer May Bump ‘Magneto’ To Make Way For ‘Invisible Man’
August 8, 2008
David Goyer is a busy man these days. Making the most popular film of the year, and one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, will do that to a guy.
Now, the “Dark Knight” screenwriter is hoping to capitalize on his success with such recent superhero scripts as “The Flash” and “X-Men Origins: Magneto,” which he’ll also direct.
“That may be next,” he told us recently. But first, Goyer revealed, he hopes to vanish for awhile.
“I’m writing a new version of ‘The Invisible Man’ for Universal,” said the red-hot writer/director, who was at Comic-Con recently to promote “The Unborn,” a horror flick due in theaters next year. “I’m in the process of doing ['Invisible Man'] right now, and I’m working with some conceptual artists in tandem with writing the script. I’m actually working with one of the artists from ‘Batman Begins’ and ‘The Dark Knight.’ So it could be ‘Magneto,’ or it could be ‘The Invisible Man’ next.”
- from MTV
Martin Scorsese thinks small screen
August 8, 2008
Oscar winner Martin Scorsese is in negotiations to direct HBO’s drama pilot “Boardwalk Empire.”
Scorsese already is exec producer on the project, based on Nelson Johnson’s book, which chronicles the 1920s origins of gambling mecca Atlantic City.
Following HBO’s green light to the Terence Winter-written script last month, there had been some speculation that Scorsese might take the helm, but given his busy schedule, that was not easy to pull off. “Boardwalk” marks Scorsese’s first foray into drama series; his only other TV directing credit is one episode of Steven Spielberg’s mid-’80s anthology series “Amazing Stories.”
- from THR
Johnny Depp set for Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland 3-D’
August 7, 2008
Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter? Sounds brilliant — and according to one very well-informed source, it’s true. Tim Burton’s upcoming take on the classic Lewis Carroll fairy tale, Alice in Wonderland 3-D is slated for release in 2010. The source reveals to EW.com that the film will be live action until Alice (played by Mia Wasikowska of HBO’s In Treatment) jumps down the rabbit hole and meets the loopy tea party host. The big question is whether Depp himself will don a Hatter outfit, or lend his voice to the computer-generated version. - from EW
Roger Avary Will ‘Return to Castle Wolfenstein’
August 7, 2008
You know the old saying “You can’t keep a good man down”? Well, it would appear that the same applies to big-budget video game flicks. Eurogamer recently spoke with id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead, and according to him the big-screen version of the popular first-person shooter Return to Castle Wolfenstein is still on and in development. It has been a year since Oscar winner Roger Avary was signed to write and direct, but in spite of the delays it looks like the project is back on the front burner. - from Cine
Mimi Leder to direct Woody Guthrie marine movie
August 7, 2008
Mimi Leder will direct “Remember Their Names,” a film about a young merchant marine’s tour of duty in WWII alongside Woody Guthrie. Scripted by Leder’s brother, Reuben Leder, the film is based on Jim Longhi’s memoir “Woody, Cisco & Me.” Before Longhi became an attorney, politician and playwright, he enlisted in 1943 and crewed with Guthrie and folksinger Cisco Houston aboard Liberty ships.
Guthrie’s tunes are a big part of the story, as the trio sung and played their way across the Atlantic and Mediterranean to Sicily and then Normandy.
- from Variety
Meryl Streep to get romantic
August 7, 2008
Meryl Streep is in advanced negotiations to play the female lead in the untitled romantic comedy that Nancy Meyers will direct for Universal.
Meyers is producing with Scott Rudin. Production begins in February.
Streep will play the female in a romantic triangle with two men. Thesp, who’s currently starring in U’s “Mamma Mia!,” sparked to the script penned by Meyers.
The director, who made “Something’s Gotta Give” and “The Holiday” for Columbia Pictures, made the deal to bring her next picture to Universal earlier this year (Daily Variety, May 7).
- from Variety
B.J. Novak is also a ‘Bastard’
August 7, 2008
B.J. Novak could soon be going from pushing paper to fighting Nazis.
“The Office” star is in talks to play one of the soldiers in “Inglorious Bastards,” Quentin Tarantino’s long-gestating film about a band of Jewish resisters in Vichy-era France.
Novak is expected to play PFC Utivich, described as a soldier of slight build who comes from New York.
- from THR
Mark Wahlberg to make cameo appearance on `Entourage’
August 7, 2008
Fall is full for Mark Wahlberg. The 37-year-old actor-producer has upcoming productions in film, television — and his own family.
Wahlberg will make a rare cameo appearance on “Entourage,” the hit HBO series he executive produces, when the fifth season begins next month. And his third child with fiancee Rhea Durham is due in September.
In October, Wahlberg returns to his action-star roots with “Max Payne,” a crime-thriller based on a gritty video game. Meanwhile, he’ll start training for his role in “The Fighter,” playing boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward.
“I’m thrilled,” Wahlberg told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “Life couldn’t be better.”
- from AP
‘Battlestar Galactica’: Edward James Olmos will direct Cylon-centric special feature
August 7, 2008
Months before its final 10 episodes begin airing in January, we now know for certain that “Battlestar Galactica” will live on — in the form of a two-hour special on the Sci Fi Channel to air in 2009 after the series concludes.
The unnamed feature will be directed by the show’s co-star, Edward James Olmos, and written by “Battlestar” writer and former “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” brain Jane Espenson.
The stand-alone will document the Cylons’ attempts — those of two agents in particular — to grapple with human survivors, both those aboard ships and those left alive on planets, shortly after the Cylons’ destruction of human home worlds.
So it’s a flashback, but not all the way back.
Three confirmed cast members are Michael Trucco (Sam Anders), Aaron Douglas (Galen Tyrol), and Dean Stockwell (Cavil, Cylon model No. 1) — all Cylons. Shooting will begin promptly in Vancouver, Canada, and Sci Fi promises women regulars are being cast as well, with more names coming soon.
- from LAtimes
George Lucas Talks ‘Indiana Jones V’
August 6, 2008
Less than three months ago, Eugene told us George Lucas was hinting that his Indiana Jones franchise might continue on with Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) as the main character and that Indy (Harrison Ford) would be more of a secondary figure. But MTV Movies Blog now reports that Lucas has had a change of mind and instead plans to make a fifth installment with our beloved hero still in the lead. During promotions for the new Star Wars: Clone Wars movie, he apparently stated that, “Indiana Jones is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones. If it was Mutt Williams it would be ‘Mutt Williams and the Search for Elvis’ or something.”
- from Cine
Helena Bonham Carter is Bad in Terminator Salvation
August 6, 2008
Helena Bonham Carter, who just joined the cast of McG’s upcoming Terminator Salvation, confirmed to SCI FI Wire that she plays a villainous character in the SF prequel.
“I kind of play a baddie, definitely a baddie,” Bonham Carter said in an interview while promoting her new film, the comedy-drama Sixty Six. “I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say, but I’m a very bad person.”
“Tim [Burton] would have killed me if I hadn’t done it, because he’s such a Terminator fan,” Bonham Carter said, referring to her longtime partner and director on such films as Planet of the Apes. “I’ve been in big movies before, like Apes, and Fight Club was big in a different way, and Charlie [and the Chocolate Factory] and Sweeney Todd were big, but I’ve never been in this kind of big popcorn action movie, a male one, an action one.” Terminator Salvation opens May 22, 2009
- from Sci Fi
Ricky Gervais’ Ghost Town Trailer
August 6, 2008
Schwarzenegger underwhelmed by early ‘Terminator Salvation’ footage
August 6, 2008
“The Terminator” will be back next summer, but the original killer robot, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a bit puzzled by this new model, at least so far.
“I still don’t know how it will play out with this one,” said the star-turned-politician, who said he was given a private screening of early footage from “Terminator Salvation” by producers of the franchise reboot directed by McG. “They showed me some footage, but I don’t have a feel for the movie. I didn’t see enough. I wasn’t sure who the Terminator was. I don’t know if there is one or if he’s the star or the hero. These are the things that determine the success and how the strong the movie will be.”
- from LAtimes
Will Russell Crowe ever romp in Sherwood Forest?
August 6, 2008
There are so few high-profile studio movies being made in Hollywood today that it was something of a surprise to discover last week that “Nottingham,” Ridley Scott’s much-anticipated Robin Hood drama, had been postponed, even with Russell Crowe on board in the role of a more likable-than-usual Sheriff of Nottingham. Universal Pictures, which is financing, cited labor uncertainty, an unfinished script and seasonal concerns about shooting during winter in forest locations that needed to have the rich green hue associated with leafy Sherwood Forest.
The original script, by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (”Bulletproof Monk”), had been such a hot property that Crowe signed on immediately, prompting a big studio bidding war that was won by Universal and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, which will produce the film. Even though Scott had tried to take the film (as a producer) to Fox during the initial bidding war, he had a good-enough relationship with Grazer (they made “American Gangster” together) to still sign on as the director. Scott immediately passed muster with Crowe, who had starred in the director’s Oscar-winning “Gladiator” and the more recent (ahem, not quite as successful) “A Good Year.”
- from LAtimes
Kevin Smith’s ‘Porno’ gets R rating
August 6, 2008
Filmmaker Kevin Smith has won an appeal to gain an R rating for his comedy “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” which previously had received an NC-17 adults-only designation.
Elizabeth Kaltman, spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America, said Tuesday the rating was revised after the group’s appeals board viewed the movie.
- from THR
Ang Lee returns to Woodstock
August 6, 2008
Focus Features will begin production late this month on “Taking Woodstock,” scripted by James Schamus and to be directed by Ang Lee.
Lee’s ensemble cast includes Emile Hirsch, Imelda Staunton and Liev Schreiber.
Pic is an adaptation of the memoir of Elliot Tiber, who played a role in helping the historic 1969 music fest unfold on his neighbor’s farm (Daily Variety, April 22).
Less than a month ago, Focus had been thinking about postponing the start of production over concerns that a possible Screen Actors Guild strike could force a shutdown later this year. But numerous studios have begun to move forward on feature starts, and it’s understood that Focus has worked out contingency plans in the event of a work stoppage.
- from Variety
Eli Roth is an Inglorious Bastard
August 6, 2008
“Hostel” director Eli Roth is on deck to play a baseball bat-swinging Nazi hunter in “Inglorious Bastards,” the Quentin Tarantino-directed drama that begins production this fall in Europe for the Weinstein Co. and Universal Pictures.
Brad Pitt is in talks to play Aldo Raine, leader of a rogue band of Jewish-American soldiers who wreak havoc on the bad guys in Nazi-occupied France.
Roth is in talks to play Sgt. Donnie Donowitz.
- from Variety
Bret Easton Ellis’ The Informers Trailer
August 6, 2008
First Cut of Star Trek Complete - Paramount Preview Goes Well
August 5, 2008
Four months after wrapping principal photography JJ Abrams and his editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon have finished their first cut for Star Trek. Late last week Abrams screened this cut for studio boss Brad Grey and other big shots at Paramount and according to sources it went very well.
The Paramount buzz on Star Trek went into high gear last week. One source tells TrekMovie that first cut showing was “a hit.” Another old studio hand who isn’t even working on the projects called the cut “very impressive.” And yet another source said that the reaction in the screening room was “far beyond expectations” and as we know expectations have been high at the studio since the powers that be decided to move it from a Christmas 2008 release to their first summer tent pole of 2009.
- from TrekMovie