The final day of The London Action Festival began with a screening of sci-fi/action classic Predator at Picturehouse Central. Once again, director John McTiernan took to the stage following the film for an extended, outspoken interview/Q&a session during which he discussed the production and his career.
McTiernan told the audience how, with Predator, he was “trying to make a film for a fourteen year old boy that was full of nonsense and looked heroic” yet he was inspired by European cinema, specifically films by Fellini and Bertolucci, as “most mainstream American directors were making action films using just master, medium and close-up shots”.
McTiernan recalled how terrible the original Predator design/suit looked was and how the process of designing and constructing a new one resulted in delays. McTiernan said he wanted to make the Predator look as authentic as possible. In order to achieve this, he recalled testing several special effects,...
McTiernan told the audience how, with Predator, he was “trying to make a film for a fourteen year old boy that was full of nonsense and looked heroic” yet he was inspired by European cinema, specifically films by Fellini and Bertolucci, as “most mainstream American directors were making action films using just master, medium and close-up shots”.
McTiernan recalled how terrible the original Predator design/suit looked was and how the process of designing and constructing a new one resulted in delays. McTiernan said he wanted to make the Predator look as authentic as possible. In order to achieve this, he recalled testing several special effects,...
- 8/4/2022
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Emmy-winning actor Christina Applegate has revealed she has multiple sclerosis via a Twitter post late on Monday evening.
“Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with Ms. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it,” the “Dead to Me” actor posted.
Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with Ms. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.
— christina applegate (@1capplegate) August 10, 2021
“As one of my friends that has Ms said ‘We wake up and take the indicated action.
“Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with Ms. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it,” the “Dead to Me” actor posted.
Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with Ms. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.
— christina applegate (@1capplegate) August 10, 2021
“As one of my friends that has Ms said ‘We wake up and take the indicated action.
- 8/10/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Troubled detective Aaron Eckhart is forced to team up with a young citizen journalist in this run-of-the-mill action spectacle
There’s a straight-to-video feel to this cop thriller, directed by action veteran Steven C Miller, written by Jeremy Drysdale (who scripted the indie hit Grand Theft Parsons) and starring its exec producer, Aaron Eckhart.
He plays Detective Frank Penny, a troubled but decent police officer with a reputation for shooting first and asking questions later. He accidentally ruins an anti-kidnap operation by killing the kidnapper who was about to pick up the ransom money in a public square, and now it’s a race against time to find out where the hostage is being held before she dies. And this tough, old-school cop finds himself having to tolerate a young citizen journalist, Ava Brooks (Courtney Eaton), who tags along, live streaming the whole thing on her phone, thus putting in...
There’s a straight-to-video feel to this cop thriller, directed by action veteran Steven C Miller, written by Jeremy Drysdale (who scripted the indie hit Grand Theft Parsons) and starring its exec producer, Aaron Eckhart.
He plays Detective Frank Penny, a troubled but decent police officer with a reputation for shooting first and asking questions later. He accidentally ruins an anti-kidnap operation by killing the kidnapper who was about to pick up the ransom money in a public square, and now it’s a race against time to find out where the hostage is being held before she dies. And this tough, old-school cop finds himself having to tolerate a young citizen journalist, Ava Brooks (Courtney Eaton), who tags along, live streaming the whole thing on her phone, thus putting in...
- 1/2/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Saban Films has acquired U.S. rights to “Line of Duty,” an action thriller with Aaron Eckhart.
The film centers on a disgraced cop (Eckhart) who finds himself in a race against time to find a kidnap victim whose abductor he accidentally killed.
The thriller is directed by Steven C. Miller, who previously oversaw “Escape Plan 2: Hades,” and was written by Jeremy Drysdale (“Grand Theft Parsons”). The cast includes Courtney Eaton (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), Dina Meyer (“Starship Troopers”), as well as “Breaking Bad” Emmy nominee Giancarlo Esposito and Ben McKenzie of “The O.C.” fame.
The film was produced by The Solution Entertainment Group’s Myles Nestel and Craig Chapman, Skip Williamson, Scott Lastaiti, Martin Sprock, Tiffany Stone, Renee Tab and Christopher Tuffin.
“This fast-paced thriller is action-packed and bound to captivate audiences and keep them on their toes,” said Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley in a statement. “It’s...
The film centers on a disgraced cop (Eckhart) who finds himself in a race against time to find a kidnap victim whose abductor he accidentally killed.
The thriller is directed by Steven C. Miller, who previously oversaw “Escape Plan 2: Hades,” and was written by Jeremy Drysdale (“Grand Theft Parsons”). The cast includes Courtney Eaton (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), Dina Meyer (“Starship Troopers”), as well as “Breaking Bad” Emmy nominee Giancarlo Esposito and Ben McKenzie of “The O.C.” fame.
The film was produced by The Solution Entertainment Group’s Myles Nestel and Craig Chapman, Skip Williamson, Scott Lastaiti, Martin Sprock, Tiffany Stone, Renee Tab and Christopher Tuffin.
“This fast-paced thriller is action-packed and bound to captivate audiences and keep them on their toes,” said Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley in a statement. “It’s...
- 9/5/2019
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Saban Films announced on Thursday that it has picked up U.S. rights to Steven C. Miller’s “Line of Duty,” starring Aaron Eckhart.
“Line of Duty” follows a disgraced cop (Eckhart) who finds himself in a race against time to find a kidnap victim whose abductor he accidentally killed.
The action thriller was directed by Miller from a script penned by Jeremy Drysdale (“Grand Theft Parsons”). In addition to Eckhart, the film stars Giancarlo Esposito, Courtney Eaton (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), Dina Meyer and Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”).
Also Read: Terry Crews, Ludacris Thriller 'John Henry' Sells to Saban Films
“This fast-paced thriller is action-packed and bound to captivate audiences and keep them on their toes,” Saban Films President Bill Bromiley said in a statement. “It’s a testament to Steven’s skills as a filmmaker and the cast, led by Aaron, give stunning performances.”
Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal...
“Line of Duty” follows a disgraced cop (Eckhart) who finds himself in a race against time to find a kidnap victim whose abductor he accidentally killed.
The action thriller was directed by Miller from a script penned by Jeremy Drysdale (“Grand Theft Parsons”). In addition to Eckhart, the film stars Giancarlo Esposito, Courtney Eaton (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), Dina Meyer and Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”).
Also Read: Terry Crews, Ludacris Thriller 'John Henry' Sells to Saban Films
“This fast-paced thriller is action-packed and bound to captivate audiences and keep them on their toes,” Saban Films President Bill Bromiley said in a statement. “It’s a testament to Steven’s skills as a filmmaker and the cast, led by Aaron, give stunning performances.”
Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal...
- 9/5/2019
- by Trey Williams
- The Wrap
The real-time gimmick can be a dicey proposition for filmmakers. More often than not, the result is a less-than-satisfying attempt to drum up a little extra tension at the expense of characters and story. Still, that doesn’t stop them trying, with stunt co-ordinators and second unit directors Darrin Prescott and Wade Allen hiring Aaron Eckhart to star in their switch to first unit work with Live! Grand Theft Parsons writer Jeremy Drysdale came up with the script for this one, which finds Eckhart as a disgraced cop called Kyle Penny. He’s on a mission to rescue the police commissioner’s daughter, who has been kidnapped and is being held somewhere in the city with a countdown clock of 80 minutes before she dies.If that wasn’t enough, Penny also has a deranged killer tracking him down. He’ll have to team up with an ambitious young online reporter...
- 6/25/2015
- EmpireOnline
Amiable if overlong, "The Price of Fame," the new film from festival circuit fixture Xavier Beauvois, whose last film “Of Gods and Men” won the Grand Prix in Cannes 2010, is a serviceable addition to the surprisingly well-defined subgenre of the graverobbing comedy. Based on the true story of an inept plot to steal Charlie Chaplin’s grave and hold it for ransom, the film suffers from the same uneven tone that can often hound this sort of shaggy dog story, (see nearest cousin “Grand Theft Parsons”). Sustained irony is a difficult thing to master, and Beauvois’ storytelling is too linear to quite pull it off: instead of tragicomic layers, we get episodes that follow one after the other: sometimes comic, sometimes heartfelt, but only ever one thing at a time. And then there’s the soundtrack, which is so intrusively grandiose that it's clearly trying to make a point, but...
- 8/28/2014
- by Jessica Kiang
- The Playlist
Known for his outrageous stunt series Jackass, he just debuted his latest comedy starring one of that franchise's most popular characters -- 86-year-old naughty grandpa Irving Zisman. Here are five things you probably don't know about Johnny Knoxville.
1. Born Philip John Clapp on March 11, 1971 in Knoxville, Tn -- his mother was a Sunday School teacher and his father worked as a car and tire salesman.
Pics: Check Out the Latest Movie Posters!
2. Says he first caught the acting bug after being given a copy of Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road by his cousin, singer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade.
3. Was offered the role of Phil Kaufman in the 2003 comedy Grand Theft Parsons after Hugh Jackman dropped out of the project.
Video: Knoxville Talks Wedgies at Bad Grandpa Premiere
4. Was knocked unconscious three times during making of 2002's Jackass: The Movie.
5. Was detained at Lax airport in January 2009 after security screeners spotted a suspicious looking, grenade-shaped device...
1. Born Philip John Clapp on March 11, 1971 in Knoxville, Tn -- his mother was a Sunday School teacher and his father worked as a car and tire salesman.
Pics: Check Out the Latest Movie Posters!
2. Says he first caught the acting bug after being given a copy of Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road by his cousin, singer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade.
3. Was offered the role of Phil Kaufman in the 2003 comedy Grand Theft Parsons after Hugh Jackman dropped out of the project.
Video: Knoxville Talks Wedgies at Bad Grandpa Premiere
4. Was knocked unconscious three times during making of 2002's Jackass: The Movie.
5. Was detained at Lax airport in January 2009 after security screeners spotted a suspicious looking, grenade-shaped device...
- 10/25/2013
- Entertainment Tonight
Michael Shannon isn't intimidating in person, as many of his characters are. Shannon is far too polite to be intimidating, but he does have a way of somehow combining intensity with a devil-may-care flippancy that, when mixed, is equal parts charming and intriguing.
An example of that dichotomy: Shannon, best known for "Boardwalk Empire," "Take Shelter," "Revolutionary Road" and countless other films, is wearing a nifty suit when I meet him at his Manhattan hotel room. By the end of this interview, that suit will be littered with the fragmented shells of the peanuts that Shannon was eating and then washing down with red wine. Again: devil-may-care.
In Shannon's new fact-based film, "The Iceman," he plays Richard Kuklinski, a man who went by the name "The Iceman," based on his lack of emotion when it came to mob-ordered murders -- murders that could top over 200.
Shannon seems a bit...
An example of that dichotomy: Shannon, best known for "Boardwalk Empire," "Take Shelter," "Revolutionary Road" and countless other films, is wearing a nifty suit when I meet him at his Manhattan hotel room. By the end of this interview, that suit will be littered with the fragmented shells of the peanuts that Shannon was eating and then washing down with red wine. Again: devil-may-care.
In Shannon's new fact-based film, "The Iceman," he plays Richard Kuklinski, a man who went by the name "The Iceman," based on his lack of emotion when it came to mob-ordered murders -- murders that could top over 200.
Shannon seems a bit...
- 4/29/2013
- by Mike Ryan
- Huffington Post
Innocence of Muslims / 'Desert Warrior' director Alan Roberts best-known for '70s soft-core porn The polemical anti-Islam "film" (actually, a cheap, grade Z amateur video), now has not only a producer, but also a director. The "Israeli entrepreneur Sam Bacile" has been exposed as the Egyptian Coptic Christian Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who allegedly misled all (or most) involved in the production. And Gawker has reported that Alan Roberts aka Robert Brownell, the director of a handful of softcore porn movies in the '70s and early '80s, helmed "Desert Warrior," a cheesy Arabian adventure that was to become -- following some sloppy overdubbing -- Innocence of Muslims. Besides the now infamous Islamophobic YouTube sensation, which has been blamed for riots in several Muslim countries from Tunisia to Pakistan, Alan Roberts' movie credits include several now long forgotten titles. (Please scroll down for more details.) Alan Roberts also produced several little-known movies,...
- 9/16/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
“It’s ridiculous! it just came out of nowhere. I’m talking to my agent and she goes, ‘How about Superman?’ ‘What?’ The idea that I would ever be in Superman. ‘Are you serious?’”
This is Boardwalk Empire star Michael Shannon commenting about his recent casting in the upcoming Man of Steel film as General Zod in Zack Snyder’s new Superman film. The actor made these and other remarks recently at the RiverRun International Film Festival. He did not reveal the capacity of how we will find Zod in the story, but just how excited and gracious he was to play the character and that he hasn’t even read a script yet.
“So I go meet him [Zack Snyder] and he’s seriously sitting there and he’s telling me – he’s like ‘You can’t read the script, so I’m just gonna tell you what happens.’ And he...
This is Boardwalk Empire star Michael Shannon commenting about his recent casting in the upcoming Man of Steel film as General Zod in Zack Snyder’s new Superman film. The actor made these and other remarks recently at the RiverRun International Film Festival. He did not reveal the capacity of how we will find Zod in the story, but just how excited and gracious he was to play the character and that he hasn’t even read a script yet.
“So I go meet him [Zack Snyder] and he’s seriously sitting there and he’s telling me – he’s like ‘You can’t read the script, so I’m just gonna tell you what happens.’ And he...
- 4/12/2011
- by Kevin Coll
- FusedFilm
When he’s not onscreen with the Jackass crew rolling down slopes, being hit in the junk with various objects or attacked by enraged animals, Johnny Knoxville has had even less luck. The scattering of non-Jackass film roles he’s won have either been middling (Grand Theft Parsons) or dreadful (The Ringer). He’s hoping to change all that with a new project called First Man.Paramount is also hoping it can change his fortunes in the fiction area, buying the rights to the pitch, and assigning writers Matt Spicer and Max Winkler to write the script around Knoxville.He’ll play a hard-partying hellraiser who put his lifestyle on hold to help his politician wife get elected president. But once the couple is in the White House, their relationship shifts and he’s tempted back to his boozy, crazy ways.It certainly sounds like something Knoxville can handle,...
- 3/4/2011
- EmpireOnline
Jackass is back and on the verge of artistic respectability. Not that Johnny Knoxville could care less
It should come as no surprise that within minutes of our meeting,Johnny Knoxville is talking about his penis. More precisely, how he broke his penis three years ago in a motorcycle stunt that went wrong. It's a war story the Jackass star has often told, so the gory details don't need repeating – suffice to say, he has to self-adminster a painful-sounding procedure twice daily that wouldn't look out of place in the latest Jackass movie.
The point, though, is that it's impossible to imagine having this sort of discussion with anyone else. Just as it's impossible to think of any other mainstream movie in which bodily fluids are liberally ejected and ingested, male nudity is so liberally on show, or the human body is so routinely and genuinely abused. The joke was...
It should come as no surprise that within minutes of our meeting,Johnny Knoxville is talking about his penis. More precisely, how he broke his penis three years ago in a motorcycle stunt that went wrong. It's a war story the Jackass star has often told, so the gory details don't need repeating – suffice to say, he has to self-adminster a painful-sounding procedure twice daily that wouldn't look out of place in the latest Jackass movie.
The point, though, is that it's impossible to imagine having this sort of discussion with anyone else. Just as it's impossible to think of any other mainstream movie in which bodily fluids are liberally ejected and ingested, male nudity is so liberally on show, or the human body is so routinely and genuinely abused. The joke was...
- 11/4/2010
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Writer John Rice, whose credits include the Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones thriller Blown Away and John Woo’s Windtalkers, will make his directorial debut with Stan's Cup, a Slap Shot-esque comedy set in the world of old-timers' hockey. Rice also wrote the script, which centers on a broken-down, once-great hockey player who gets a chance to finally fill his legendary father's skates by giving his hometown, known as Hockeytown USA, a pseudo rematch of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game against a Russian team of ex-Olympians. The trades say the filmmakers see the movie having a Full Monty vibe rather than one of a traditional sports movie, focusing on an unusual place and the eccentric people who inhabit it. Sarah Finn (Crash, Grand Theft Parsons) will produce. Finn is also a veteran casting director, whose credits include Iron Man, Vantage Point, Pride and Glory and Oliver Stone’s W.
- 1/26/2009
- by James Cook
- TheMovingPicture.net
LONDON -- Ewan McGregor and Richard Griffiths have joined the voice cast of Jackboots On Whitehall, U.K. production, sales and distribution banner Swipe Films said Tuesday.
The duo join a cast that includes Tom Wilkinson, Alan Cumming, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant and Timothy Spall in the World War II spoof that uses action figures to imagine what would have happened if the Germans had won the Battle of Britain (HR 12/7/06).
McGregor will take the lead role as a heroic Scottish farmhand who leads the resistance against the invaders and wins the girl (Pike).
Griffiths, who won a BAFTA nomination for his role in The History Boys, will play Luftwaffe leader Hermann Goering.
Using specially designed GI Joe-style action figures, producer Frank Mannion (Grand Theft Parsons) said the $2 million-budgeted movie is in the vein of Team America without the strings.
It marks the feature debut of director Edward McHenry, who also co-wrote the script with his brother Rory. The project is being co-produced by Jamie English and executive produced by casting agent Debbie McWilliams.
The duo join a cast that includes Tom Wilkinson, Alan Cumming, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant and Timothy Spall in the World War II spoof that uses action figures to imagine what would have happened if the Germans had won the Battle of Britain (HR 12/7/06).
McGregor will take the lead role as a heroic Scottish farmhand who leads the resistance against the invaders and wins the girl (Pike).
Griffiths, who won a BAFTA nomination for his role in The History Boys, will play Luftwaffe leader Hermann Goering.
Using specially designed GI Joe-style action figures, producer Frank Mannion (Grand Theft Parsons) said the $2 million-budgeted movie is in the vein of Team America without the strings.
It marks the feature debut of director Edward McHenry, who also co-wrote the script with his brother Rory. The project is being co-produced by Jamie English and executive produced by casting agent Debbie McWilliams.
- 1/16/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Thirty-one years after his much-mythologized fatal OD in a desert motel room, Gram Parsons is shaking off the gilded shroud of legend to step into the spotlight and claim his musical legacy.
The country-rock visionary was the subject of two recent SoCal tribute concerts headlined by compadre Keith Richards. And this impressively researched documentary, which has aired on the BBC and opens Los Angeles' Don't Knock the Rock festival tonight, should stand for quite some time as Parsons' definitive film bio. It also serves as palate-cleansing antidote to the misguided indie feature Grand Theft Parsons, a semi-fictionalized look at the strange post-death trip that ended with a partial cremation in the singer-songwriter's beloved Joshua Tree National Monument.
At a time when country music was decidedly unfashionable, the Florida-raised Parsons brought a passion for the genre to the burgeoning California rock scene. After seeing Elvis live, the teenage trust-fund rebel wanted only to make "cosmic American music." He left his booze-addled, citrus-empire family and found his place in Los Angeles' late-'60s heyday of the Troubadour and the Strip.
During his brief membership in the Byrds, Parsons made his mark with the Nashville-recorded album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The effect of his friendship with The Rolling Stones, Richards especially, is evident in the country-flavored tracks on Exile on Main Street. The Flying Burrito Brothers, Parsons' post-Byrds venture, released a gorgeous rendition of Wild Horses before the Stones' version came out.
Richards is among the many musicians offering reminiscences in Fallen Angel. Fellow Byrd and Burrito Brother Chris Hillman is forthcoming about his admiration for Parsons' genius and frustration with his drug-fueled unreliability. Emmylou Harris, whose work with Parsons on his posthumously released Grievous Angel represents one of the most inspired vocal pairings ever recorded, shares her bemusement over the hard-drinking Parsons' lack of focus and preparation on their first tour together.
But resourceful director Gandulf Hennig ventures beyond the obvious talking heads, drawing emotional testimony from not only Parsons' wife and the girlfriend who was with him when he died, but friends of the family and bandmates from the young musician's prep-school days -- who attest to his unblinking self-confidence and sense of style even as a teen.
The only voice missing from the docu is Parsons'. There's ample performance footage but, other than excerpts from a letter, no direct quotes. Still, the concise narration written by Hennig and musician/journalist Sid Griffin (the Long Ryders) is a definite asset, and there's a grounded, shimmering power to the film's multivoiced interpretation of Parsons' short life and still-vital music.
The country-rock visionary was the subject of two recent SoCal tribute concerts headlined by compadre Keith Richards. And this impressively researched documentary, which has aired on the BBC and opens Los Angeles' Don't Knock the Rock festival tonight, should stand for quite some time as Parsons' definitive film bio. It also serves as palate-cleansing antidote to the misguided indie feature Grand Theft Parsons, a semi-fictionalized look at the strange post-death trip that ended with a partial cremation in the singer-songwriter's beloved Joshua Tree National Monument.
At a time when country music was decidedly unfashionable, the Florida-raised Parsons brought a passion for the genre to the burgeoning California rock scene. After seeing Elvis live, the teenage trust-fund rebel wanted only to make "cosmic American music." He left his booze-addled, citrus-empire family and found his place in Los Angeles' late-'60s heyday of the Troubadour and the Strip.
During his brief membership in the Byrds, Parsons made his mark with the Nashville-recorded album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The effect of his friendship with The Rolling Stones, Richards especially, is evident in the country-flavored tracks on Exile on Main Street. The Flying Burrito Brothers, Parsons' post-Byrds venture, released a gorgeous rendition of Wild Horses before the Stones' version came out.
Richards is among the many musicians offering reminiscences in Fallen Angel. Fellow Byrd and Burrito Brother Chris Hillman is forthcoming about his admiration for Parsons' genius and frustration with his drug-fueled unreliability. Emmylou Harris, whose work with Parsons on his posthumously released Grievous Angel represents one of the most inspired vocal pairings ever recorded, shares her bemusement over the hard-drinking Parsons' lack of focus and preparation on their first tour together.
But resourceful director Gandulf Hennig ventures beyond the obvious talking heads, drawing emotional testimony from not only Parsons' wife and the girlfriend who was with him when he died, but friends of the family and bandmates from the young musician's prep-school days -- who attest to his unblinking self-confidence and sense of style even as a teen.
The only voice missing from the docu is Parsons'. There's ample performance footage but, other than excerpts from a letter, no direct quotes. Still, the concise narration written by Hennig and musician/journalist Sid Griffin (the Long Ryders) is a definite asset, and there's a grounded, shimmering power to the film's multivoiced interpretation of Parsons' short life and still-vital music.
Jackass star Johnny Knoxville is reaping the benefits from his decision to ditch his prankster ways for acting - after landing a $5 million deal for his next movie, Walking Tall. Knoxville will team up with former wrestling star The Rock in the film, about a man returning to his hometown who stands up to local louts and becomes sheriff. The funnyman, who will play the Rock's sidekick, is scheduled to begin shooting on June 23 in Vancouver, Canada. He also has roles in upcoming movies Around The World In 80 Days, Hating Her and Grand Theft Parsons.
- 6/9/2003
- WENN
After the success of his big-screen feature Jackass: The Movie, Johnny Knoxville is back in business with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. The actor will star in and produce an untitled comedy, based on his idea, about a war that develops between two hot dog vendors in downtown Los Angeles. Permanent Midnight author-screenwriter Jerry Stahl is in negotiations to write the screenplay. Knoxville is producing the project with Art and John Linson and MTV. The actor, repped by CAA, the Firm and attorney Warren Dern, recently wrapped shooting the indie feature Grand Theft Parsons. He's attached to star in Paramount Pictures/Walden Media's Around the World in 80 Days and the indie feature Hating Her. He most recently appeared onscreen in Men in Black II. Stahl is repped by UTA.
NEW YORK -- Johnny Knoxville and 2003 Cesar Award winner Cecile de France have signed to star alongside Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Jim Broadbent in Walden Media's upcoming Around the World in 80 Days. A big-screen adaptation of the classic novel by Jules Verne, 80 Days begins shooting this month in Thailand and Berlin, with Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer) at the helm. Hal Lieberman and Bill Badalato are producing. De France will play Monique de Grave, a young French artist who decides that a trip around the world would be a perfect cure for her lost inspiration. Knoxville plays an eccentric hobo met during the highflying adventures of de Grave, Phileas Fogg (Coogan) and Passepartout (Chan). The star of Jackass: The Movie, Knoxville has been cast in a spate of starring roles lately for such projects as writer-director Tom Bezucha's Hating Her and Grand Theft Parsons, with Christina Applegate and Marley Shelton. De France recently won a French Cesar as most promising actress for her role in writer-helmer Cedric Klapisch's Euro-student comedy L'Auberge Espagnole. Knoxville is represented by CAA and the Firm. De France is repped by Artmedia. Overseeing the project for Walden, which is headed by Cary Granat, are senior vp production Alex Schwartz and director of development Kisha Cameron.
- 3/14/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With Jackass: The Movie in the top slot at the boxoffice, the film's star, Johnny Knoxville, has found his next project. He will star in the low-budget indie comedy feature Grand Theft Parsons alongside a cast that includes Christina Applegate and Marley Shelton. David Caffrey (Divorcing Jack) is directing the project, which will be in production by year's end, with Frank Mannion producing. Jeremy Drysdale wrote the script, which is inspired by a true story. It sees Knoxville star as Phil Kaufman, a road manager for musician Gram Parsons. The film begins at Parsons' death, with Kaufman stealing the musician's body from a mortuary and racing it to Joshua Tree in the Southern California desert. There, Kaufman attempts to burn it to fulfill a pact he made with Parsons. Applegate plays Parsons' ex-wife, while Shelton plays Kaufman's love interest. Robert Forster and Michael Shannon also star.
- 10/29/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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