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Bobcat Goldthwait Talks Upcoming Zombie Fetus Film ‘Anklebiters,’ ‘Rio Malo,’ and the “Wholesome” ‘Planet Bill’
1 hour ago
God Bless America only started to proliferate into theaters and on VOD this past month, but most of us might expect Bobcat Goldthwait to get back into directing pretty soon — the movie was finished about nine months ago, after all. And if you not only expect but hope that’s the case, you’ll be happy to hear that, whilst being interviewed on the Q & A Podcast (via /Film), Goldthwait shared big details on multiple projects that all have some potential to make their way onscreen.
An adaptation of the Kinks‘ album Schoolboys in Disgrace is currently being developed with the band’s frontman, Ray Davies, while a cast is being narrowed down. Seeing as that’s been around for about two years, could it be next? Possibly, but there’s still a lot to look out for — Anklebiters among them. It’s impossible to gauge what genre this could »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
‘Braveheart’ Writer Randall Wallace Is A ‘Conscientous Objector’
2 hours ago
If only for his own sake, Randall Wallace will forever be known as the writer of Braveheart; varying degrees of work on Secretariat, We Were Soldiers, and Pearl Harbor don’t crop up alongside his own name too often. But, along with the announcement that he would get back to work with Gibson — if the actor’s crazy antics haven’t shut down some Viking adventures in the months since — this following news is another (potentially) good sign for the writer-director.
According to TheWrap, Walden Media have hired Wallace to direct The Conscientious Objector, a real-life drama about World War II hero Desmond Doss, best known as the first-ever conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor; Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan (The Pacific) is behind the screenplay. (A conscientious objector is someone who, for personal reasons, claims they have no requirement to provide military service. Being a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Gemma Arterton Goes to ‘Runner, Runner’; Jennifer Stone Latest With ‘Nothing to Fear’
3 hours ago
Following news that hit about two weeks back, Variety reports that Runner, Runner has made Gemma Arterton the latest member of its sprightly cast. Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) and his team have already grabbed Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Oliver Cooper (Project X), and Anthony Mackie for the film, which revolves around a Princeton student (Timberlake) who ends up working for the online gambling site that already drained him of funds. Arterton has a thrilling, transgressive role, having been pegged to play the main character’s love interest.
Brian Koppelman and David Levien wrote the screenplay, a job that’s more than likely to bring them back to their Rounders days — only, this time, the gambling is much more modern and “high-tech.” (This aspect might actually be transgressive, now that I think about it.) New Regency, Appian Way, Stone Village Pictures, and Double Features will produce the film for a June shoot, »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Tomas Alfredson Reunites With ‘Let the Right One In’ Author for Fantasy Feature ‘The Brothers Lionheart’
4 hours ago
I’ve waited for this news since I first saw Tomas Alfredson‘s near (if not, as I suspect a third viewing will confirm, true) masterpiece Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. AICN learned (and Twitch later confirmed) that the Swedish helmer is looking to return to his genre days with The Brothers Lionheart, a dark fantasy tale being shaped by Let the Right One In author and screenwriter John Ajvide Lindqvist.
The source material, written by Astrid Lindgren, revolves around two brothers living in the fantasy world of Nangijala — a place that, from what summaries indicate, is actually an afterlife — where a tyrannical ruler controls the land with a dragon; after joining a rebel group, they attempt to bring his rein to an end. Some other tidbits from quick online readings truly reinforce what a dark film this would make — I wouldn’t expect any studio to adapt the story in its pre-existing form — which, »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Stanley Tucci Loses Sight of ‘Ed Lucas’; Gillian Anderson Will ‘Follow You Down’
5 hours ago
It’s fair to say that any project with Stanley Tucci will bear at least a few fruits — even if, in some cases, the only good scenes are those that feature him — so, regardless of how this new film shakes out, you’ve got some reason to give it even the smallest modicum of your time.
Deadline reports that Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right Productions and S2BN Entertainment are working on Ed Lucas, the biopic of a blind sports writer who, over the course of about half a century, has covered the New York sports scene. Along with creating a system for determining what happens in the game at any given moment, geographically-speaking, Lucas has also encountered numerous sports legends in his time — basically, chart baseball stars from the early ’60s to now — and come to make a name for himself through years and years of dedicated work. »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Producers Plan Big Screen Adaptation of Horror Baseball Graphic Novel ‘Sullivan’s Sluggers’
6 hours ago
It’s that time of year again: The season when fans flock to their beloved stadium bleachers for hot dogs, beer and, of course, the boys of summer. Players are not only returning to the field, but also making their way back to the big screen — only, not in the traditional way.
A feature adaptation of Sullivan’s Sluggers is in the works, and while the plot revolves around the supernatural, it’s a far cry from Field of Dreams. The 200-page horror baseball graphic novel, by Andrew Smith and James Stokoe, follows a minor league manager named Casey Sullivan and his rag-tag team, The Sluggers, as they fight for their lives in a town overrun with “shape-shifting monsters.”
Interesting details on the work were already spilled by producers Todd Garner of Broken Road Productions and Adam Herz & Joshua Shader of Terra Firma Films – they consider it an homage to »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
[Review] Polisse
6 hours ago
It seems odd that there should be anything left to be said in a movie about cops. It seems as though the cinematic landscape has been saturated by police officers and detectives, their lives and work dissected and examined to the point of obscenity. Yet we as an audience remain enamored with the life, the job, all the facets of the existence of the people who swear to protect us.
Polisse, written and directed by Maïwenn, provides one of the most novel and engrossing new entries into the genre in quite a while, and more than defends and justifies its creation.
Part of this has to do with the subject not only of the film’s narrative, but of the investigations we follow. The film focuses on the men and women of the Child Protection Unit (Cpu) of the Paris police. These are the people who have to investigate the »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Battered Ryan Gosling In New Stills From Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Only God Forgives’
7 hours ago
Following up last year’s Drive, the duo of Ryan Gosling and Nicholas Winding Refn are crafting a reportedly even more violent film with Only God Forgives, set in the Thai boxing underworld. Today we’ve got some new behind-the-scenes stills of our bloodied lead star, as well as some news from the first footage unveiling of Cannes. For this first footage, Refn is reportedly going the same route with vibrant visuals and pop music (this time M83) over a scene of harsh violence. Having loved Drive, I certainly wouldn’t mind a spiritual sequel of sorts, but I’m looking forward to what else the talented Refn creates. Check out a portion of AICN‘s report below and the rest on their site for the 3-minute scene that is near the beginning of the film, as well as the new stills.
….there are a few Drive touchstones in the footage: long tracking shots, »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Anne Hathaway Cries Out In First Trailer For ‘Les Miserables’
7 hours ago
We got a batch of stills yesterday and now Universal Pictures have released our first look at footage from their upcoming adaptation of Les Miserables. The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper returns with the strong ensemble of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks for the adaptation of the classic story.
This first trailer features Hathaway’s Fantine singing the song I Dreamed A Dream over a mishmash of images mostly introducing our characters. It looks like Hooper is going for the same, almost fish-eyed aesthetic here when compared to his last Oscar-winner. It certainly looks like an elegant take, but I hope he can capture the grief in this story without taking a glossy, safe approach. Check out the trailer below.
Synopsis:
Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Armie Hammer, Garrett Hedlund, and Taylor Kitsch Rumored to Play Finnick In ‘Catching Fire’
19 hours ago
Now that those silly Robert Pattinson rumors have been put to rest, those anticipating The Hunger Games: Catching Fire can start digging into… well… they can start digging into “credible” rumors. (As with most things in life, this matter hinges entirely on the adjectives.) Though this could prove to be wholly false, E! (via ThePlaylist) claims that Lionsgate are laying eyes on three youngsters when considering Finnick Odair, the Fire character Pattinson was never up for in the first place.
Without further ado, it may as well be said that Armie Hammer, Garrett Hedlund, and Taylor Kitsch are all having their names “bantered about” at the moment; though such a state might indicate that things aren’t close to finalized, it’s said that an actual, legitimate choice may become public knowledge before the week is out. (And it’s Wednesday!) There is the mention that an unknown may soon »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
‘Devil in a Blue Dress’ Director Carl Franklin Getting Behind ‘Night of the City’
20 hours ago
Sometime this year, Carl Franklin (Devil in a Blue Dress) will release Bless Me, Ultima, his first feature since 2003′s Denzel Washington-led thriller Out of Time. Which, really, is just a simple way of saying he’s been out of the movie game for a spot of time — and, now, it would seem as though his extended stay in TV land is coming to an end.
TheWrap reports that he’s been hired for City of Night, a David Chisholm-penned “Los Angeles-based thriller” that McDonald Entertainment and Meyers Media Group will be financing. How Franklin gets to put his name to the city isn’t evident right now, though the “thriller” aspect is a little clearer; City revolves around rookie cop Emmett Conlin, who gets thrust into the “toughest crime unit” the Lapd has to offer, and is soon “drawn into a web of deceit and corruption that »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Dustin Lance Black Talks ‘Statistical Probability,’ ‘3 Story,’ and Screenwriting Projects
22 hours ago
If you really think about the way things have shaken out, the going’s been a little rough for Dustin Lance Black. After an Oscar win on Milk, the screenwriter took his talents to (and, if word is accurate, made us question them with) a directing debut, Virginia, and then went on to script Clint Eastwood‘s leaden, quickly-forgotten J. Edgar. With just two duds, the 3-part name almost became something of a warning sign.
But I’m not going to give up on the guy, so a recent talk with ThePlaylist — wherein he discussed future projects, both on the page and behind the camera — brings news of a few things I can grant my attention. First, and most prominently, Black said that he’s currently writing (and plans to direct) The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, his adaptation of Jennifer E. Smith‘s young romance novel.
It »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or Winner ‘Amour’ Set For December Release
22 hours ago
After winning the top prize at Cannes this weekend, it looks like we have our strongest Best Foreign Oscar contender and now, we know when we’ll be able to see it. We praised Michael Haneke‘s drama Amour at the festival, giving it an A and calling it “a heart-wrenching and unflinching portrait of an elderly couple faced with the trials and tribulations of our own mortality when confronted with the inevitable demise we all face.”
Sony Pictures Classics, who distributed Haneke’s last film and Palme d’Or winner The White Ribbon, have now set a December 19th, 2012 limited release for the film that is certainly expected on the fall festival circuit. This couldn’t be a more prime date with Oscars in mind. So for those that want a little death for Christmas and are tired of hobbits, this one is for you.
Are you looking forward »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Zac Efron, and Goldie Hawn to Converge for Adam Shankman’s ‘Where I Leave You’
23 hours ago
Update: Variety now reports that Malin Akerman (featured in Shankman‘s Rock of Ages) and Jason Sudeikis have entered the film’s orbit; it’s almost a certainty that one would play the sibling who’s yet to be cast. You can read the original story below.
Deadline has brought news of a promising comedic ensemble, with a report that Adam Shankman (Rock of Ages) and Warner Bros. close to nabbing Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Zac Efron, and Goldie Hawn for This is Where I Leave You, the silver screen adaptation of a novel by Jonathan Tropper — an adaptation the author scribed himself. As is, unsurprisingly, also the case with that book, Where I Leave You centers on four siblings who reunite at their family home after their father’s death, but are forced to face their family members’ true selves when something forces them to stay inside the house for an entire week. »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Gong Li Leading Tarsem’s Marco Polo Film; Michelle Pfeiffer Eyes Luc Besson’s Robert De Niro-Starrer
29 May 2012 1:06 PM, PDT
Oh, this should be established right upfront: Tarsem is making a film about Marco Polo. Recent news had indicated that he would follow Mirror, Mirror with the fantastical horror film Killing on Carnival Row — and that could still happen first, if said news was accurate enough — but ScreenDaily now reports that he’s handling a biopic of the famed explorer, and he’ll do so with Gong Li in a lead role.
A co-production between the United States and China, the untitled film “relates to communication between China and the west” by chronicling Polo’s well-documented adventures in China, some of which happen to involve Li‘s Mongolian empress. (When I was a kid, you always heard that he brought pasta to Italy. That was kind of it.) Such a story apparently requires Tarsem, who the actress holds as an “audacious film-maker you need to make a film about Marco Polo »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Oscilloscope to Distribute Matteo Garrone’s Grand Prix-Winning ‘Reality’ In 2013
29 May 2012 12:52 PM, PDT
At first glance, the passion for Matteo Garrone‘s Reality appeared to be somewhat minimal. Our review, out of the handful of others I looked through, seemed to the most positive, with a good deal of other journalists saying that, however finely-made, the film had trouble taking off in the shadow of Garrone‘s grittily excellent Gomorrah.
Since those initial whispers, however, the film’s momentum has really taken off. When the festival’s awards were handed out on Sunday, Garrone joined the Palme d’Or-winning Michael Haneke (Amour) as the festival’s other back-to-back winner this year — Reality, like the 2008 Gomorrah before it, took home the Grand Prix. And today brings the news that Oscilloscope Laboratories has bought the rights to the film, with plans to run the festival circuit this fall in anticipation of a likely 2013 theatrical release. [Variety]
Sadly, Oscilloscope founder — and, more famously, Beastie Boys performer — Adam Yauch passed away this year, »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
[First Look] Andre 3000 Channels Jimi Hendrix With Haley Atwell On ‘All is By My Side’ Set
29 May 2012 12:49 PM, PDT
Earlier this month, we gave you arundown of All is By My Side, a Jimi Hendrix sort-of biopic starring Andre “3000″ Benjamin. With production on the movie currently underway in Dublin, Ireland it was only a matter of time before someone took a picture of Benjamin in character and courtesy of Rap Radar/Cs, we have it for you above and below. Ridiculous afro aside, it appears more like a wig than actual hair, Benjamin does bare enough of a resemblance to Hendrix to make it work as a whole.
Written and directed by John Ridley, All is By My Side is not the traditional “birth to death” musician biopic; instead it’ll on the years of 1966-67 when Hendrix recorded his influential debut album in London, England. But here’s the kicker, the Hendrix Estate has denied requests to license any of the guitarist’s music for the movie. A »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
First Trailer For Stephen Frears’ ‘Lay the Favorite’ With Bruce Willis, Rebecca Hall and Vince Vaughn
29 May 2012 12:36 PM, PDT
While he is currently pondering a Freddie Mercury biopic, The Queen helmer Stephen Frears debuted his most recent film at Sundance this year, and it was’t pretty. Eviscerated by many, including us, Lay the Favorite features a strong cast of Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta Jones, Joshua Jackson and Vince Vaughn.
Unfortunately, it looks like aren’t put to good use, as we called the “baffling dud,” a “by-the-numbers, hollow experience, only worsened by the dedication to this un-cinematic story.” The first trailer, coming in from the UK thanks to HeyUGuys, is snappy enough to not convey the reportedly dull nature, but one can get a grating vibe already. Check it out below as audiences will get to judge for themselves later this year, when The Weinstein Company expects to release the film.
Synopsis:
Beth Raymer is a beautiful girl with a big heart who leaves her dancing »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
‘Maps to the Stars’ Possibly Next for David Cronenberg; Robert Pattinson and Viggo Mortensen In Line to Star
29 May 2012 12:14 PM, PDT
Exciting as it may be, news of a reunion between David Cronenberg and Robert Pattinson came about a day before Cosmopolis hit Cannes; it’s understandable that the thing got a little buried, is what I’m saying. But that couldn’t keep it down, and a recent interview with ThePlaylist has confirmed that the two are looking to work once more, while the director’s recent muse, Viggo Mortensen, will likely join this next effort.
The film being discussed is Maps to the Stars, a Bruce Wagner-scripted drama that Cronenberg, though enthusiastic about, cautions is “a very difficult film to get made,” in part because the story is “very acerbic and satirical.” And he should know; the thing was first announced more than six years ago, a time when it was described as the story of “Hollywood excess and intrigue” set around characters that are “agents, actors and managers. »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
Jude Law Wanted For Douglas Fairbanks Role In Mary Pickford Biopic
29 May 2012 12:01 PM, PDT
Just a few weeks ago, we reported that producers Jennifer DeLia and Julie Pacino were working on the upcoming biopic of silent era movie star Mary Pickford. They’ve now secured a leading lady — Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) — and spent their time in Cannes searching for actors to play the various men in her life.
According to Forbes (via ThePlaylist), the producers have been swept away by Jude Law, whom they want to play the role of Pickford‘s husband and silent movie star Douglas Fairbanks. He was known for playing his swashbuckling roles in films such as, The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood as well as The Mark of Zorro. The pair were married in 1920, until their divorce in 1936. Law will just need to add a thin mustache in order to resemble the actor who was once dubbed “The King of Hollywood.”
Based on Eileen Whitford‘s biography »
- jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
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