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Olivia Wilde Saddles Up For 'Cowboys & Aliens'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Newsstand, Dreamworks, Steven Spielberg, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Western, Daniel Craig
I don't know if the image of Daniel Craig in chaps left too many speechless, or if it was that no one was interested in Cowboys & Aliens once Robert Downey Jr. rode off the range, but few had much to say when the rumor mill put Craig in the saddle. Well, what do you say to the news that Craig is officially in, and that he'll be joined by Olivia Wilde? According to THR's Heat Vision, Wilde will play Ella, a woman who joins Craig's mysterious gunslinger to fight off the aliens. (Is the gunslinger now mysterious and no longer named Zeke Jackson? Curious.) I'm not sure if Ella appeared in the original graphic novel / web-comic. There was a female gunfighter named Verity who traded bullets with the Apache right alongside Zeke. Perhaps she'll be a variation on that character, or she'll be a pioneer woman with a rifle, or she'll be one of the West's soiled doves like Megan Fox in Jonah Hex. (Cue the fervent wishing of many male readers for Wilde in similar attire.)
Jon Favreau is directing, and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci of every-script-under-the-sun-fame have penned the screenplay with Damon Lindelof. Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Brian Grazer are producing alongside Scott Michael Rosenberg, the author of the graphic novel. Shooting is expected to begin this summer. Between this and Tron: Legacy, I think Wilde may be destined to be summer's geek goddess.
Daniel Craig Might Saddle Up For 'Cowboys & Aliens'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, RumorMonger, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Dreamworks, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Western, Daniel Craig
Losing Robert Downey Jr. didn't slow down Cowboys & Aliens for very long, and it didn't even get to jump into the rumor pool. According to Collider, Daniel Craig might just be the man who fills Downey's boots. He's still in negotiations and has not been officially cast, so don't start dreaming of leather chaps just yet.I certainly hope Craig is the man who takes the part. As James Bond, he's one of the undisputed action leaders right now, but he still hasn't gotten to make a name for himself outside of 007. I think it would be wonderful to see him cut loose in something lighter, and to pair him up with Jon Favreau would be ideal. I don't think this is going to be a Wild Wild West by any means, so I don't think it'll hurt Craig's upward climb at all.
The only reason I could see Craig unable to take the part would be a conflict with Bond. Craig and Judi Dench have hinted Bond 23 would film late this year, and aim for a 2011 release. Cowboys & Aliens is aiming for a summer 2011 release date as well. So schedule conflicts could derail Cowboys & Aliens a little longer, or it could find another brawny fellow riding the range altogether. Hollywood is certainly chock full of guys I'd like to see in a ten gallon hat ...
Sam Mendes to Direct the 23rd James Bond Film?
Filed under: Action, Deals, MGM, RumorMonger, Daniel Craig
Update: Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood has gone on record to say that the talks Sam Mendes are currently in concern a consultancy status, not outright directing duties. The likely motive behind this involves the contract between MGM and Bond owners EON; were EON to officially hire a director, the troubled MGM would have to issue first payment or else EON could take their property to another studio, thus the consultant title for now.I guess MGM wasn't bluffing when they set out to dispel the rumors that the next James Bond film would be delayed due to the studio's rather public financial woes. The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog is now indicating that American Beauty and Away We Go director Sam Mendes is in negotiations to bring the legendary spy to the big screen for a 23rd outing. THR's assertion is that production will move forward on the untitled Bond film regardless of their current For Sale status as a studio.
Writing duties currently lay in the hands of Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, both of whom were behind the word processor for Martin Campbell's Casino Royale and Marc Forster's Quantum of Solace, along with British screenwriter Peter Morgan, a man best-known for penning political dramas along the lines of The Queen and Frost/Nixon. Aside from Morgan and the now 'in talks' Sam Mendes, the rest of the core production team remains the same, with Daniel Craig of course reprising his role as the titular super spy.
James Bond Delayed Due to MGM Woes
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, MGM, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, James Bond, Remakes and Sequels, Daniel Craig
UPDATED: MGM says the scripting process is still in progress & that Bond is not delayed. It's going to be a little longer before 007 steps in front of cameras again. According to Total Film (and passed along via MI6), Bond's 23rd adventure has been delayed by MGM's financial woes. After all, someone has to pay for all those new gadgets and when the home office is on the block, where do the new ones come from? While both Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench have hinted that the film will begin filming in late 2010, and will aim for a 2011 release, Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli hinted that the shooting schedule can only be decided once MGM settles its accounts. "Well, our timeline's a little up in the air what with the situation at MGM, so we have to be flexible. We just don't know enough about the situation to comment, but we know it's uncertain."
And if you've been sitting here since Peter Morgan took the screenwriting job last summer, dreaming of a script that's at least a draft or two in, guess again. Wilson said it was far too early to start talking about where Bond will end up after he found his solace. "Well ... we've hired the writers and we've been working with them but it's just too early to say anything. You know, often at this stage, I find myself saying, 'Oh, we're gonna do this and that', then six months from now you'll say, 'That isn't in the film at all - you told me it was ...' I think we're at the stage where a lot of ideas are floating around that sound very good, but whether they make the final cut, who knows?"
The Best of the Decade: Action Flicks
Filed under: Action, Foreign Language, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Disney, Lionsgate Films, Magnolia, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Sony Classics, Universal, Warner Brothers, Focus Features, 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Johnny Depp, Peter Jackson, James Bond, Lists, Miramax, Best/Worst, War, Daniel Craig
Cinematical is about to launch into our best-of-the-'00s series, with a different writer tackling a different genre over these last few weeks of the aughts (or whatever it was we decided to call this decade). Yours truly has been tasked with sifting out the most exciting action flicks these years have had to offer, and in the list-making equivalent of flinching, I've decided to divide them up by superlative instead of ranking them in order of awesomeness.
Oh, and before you comment away about what's missing (which we do want), I have left off The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, X2: X-Men United and The Incredibles, so they may be included in any superhero or animated list to come. If those movies are left off those lists, then by all means, give them hell. I might even join you.
UPDATE: Keira Knightley Officially 'My Fair Lady' for Joe Wright
Filed under: Classics, Music & Musicals, Romance, Casting, Sony, RumorMonger, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels, Daniel Craig
Last summer, it was reported that Columbia was setting up a remake of My Fair Lady and that Keira Knightley was pursuing the iconic, Cockney role of Eliza Doolittle. While Knightley has been "attached" ever since, The Telegraph reports that Scarlett Johansson was also vying for the role. But Knightley won out, and the Telegraph not only confirms that she's got the role, but that Joe Wright will be directing. Emma Thompson is writing the script. Knightley has been taking singing lessons ever since the possibility came up (and I actually think she proved she had a good voice in The Edge of Love), and I think she'll be absolutely charming as Doolittle. But then I'm biased towards her. Even if you aren't (and I expect many "too skinny!" comments), I think the combination of Wright and Thompson pushes this into very, very promising territory. Thompson can do no wrong by me.
What will really tip the balance is who they cast as the grumpy, misogynist Professor Henry Higgins. The Telegraph reports that Daniel Craig is being considered, and he'd certainly be ideal as the grim Higgins, probably moreso than the dapper Hugh Jackman. I wouldn't mind seeing Patrick Wilson become a contender, and I half wonder if Gerard Butler's vocal chords were trotted out on Saturday Night Live as an audition. Just you wait, and practice your R's, and we'll see whose face Knightley must become accustomed to.
UPDATE: Screenrush caught up with Joe Wright, who says he never signed on, and is uninterested. Given the shakiness of the initial report, it's unclear whether Knightley's casting is official either.
Hugh Jackman vs. The Ringing Cell Phone
Filed under: Fandom, Daniel Craig, Fan Rant, Trailers and Clips
Is there anything more annoying than a cell phone ringing in the middle of a movie theater? Yes, there is! A cell phone ringing in the middle of a live play! As you undoubtedly know, Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig are currently treading the boards in A Steady Rain, a gritty Chicago cop drama that just kicked off on Broadway. Now, when you decide to spend the money and see a once-in-a-lifetime performance, you can either give it your full intention and see how genius creates a legend, or you can leave your cell phone on so your friends can call you and find out if Craig's wearing his Bond swimtrunks.
Some jackass decided to do the latter. Perhaps he or she had a death wish to be ripped apart by the bulging muscles that make up Craig and Jackman, or maybe they thought no one would notice if it kept ringing, and ringing, and ringing. Luckily for the idiot, Jackman was a class act. Luckily for the audience, he didn't even break character and practically made it part of the performance. (I would have preferred seeing Craig and Jackman rip the person apart with their bare hands, but I like violence, and the possibility that one or both would have torn their shirt off in doing so.) Check out the video below the jump for a good laugh.
Could Money Woes Cost MGM James Bond and 'The Hobbit'?
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Executive shifts, MGM, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, DIY/Filmmaking, Peter Jackson, Politics, James Bond, Remakes and Sequels, Daniel Craig
MGM has been plagued by financial woes for much of their long and illustrious career, but their most recent crisis could end up costing them two of their biggest titles. Nikke Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily is breathlessly reporting that the studio is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy with over $3.5 billion in debt. MGM held a very long conference call with their creditors, pleading with themto waive their interest payments until February 2010, and allow them the cash they need for the rest of the year, particularly to fund its upcoming slate of films. Naturally, some of those are highly anticipated, such as Robocop, The Hobbit, and the latest James Bond installment. However, MGM's creditors aren't feeling particularly charitable, and may force the studio to file for bankruptcy. If that happens, they could lose James Bond, The Hobbit, and numerous other franchises as MGM would have to sell them to the highest bidder. Right now, they're trying to convince their Scrooges that bankruptcy is the worst possible option, and that Bond and Bilbo are big enough moneymakers to cover their debt. That's where the situation stands now, and it'll certainly be quite the economic spectacle to watch.
I find the news particularly interesting in light of Peter Jackson's remarks on The Hobbit at ComicCon, when he squashed rumors that the film was in the casting stages, and noted that it hadn't even really been green-lit or had its budget approved yet. It was a douse of cold water after a lot of breathless excitement, much of which seemed to come straight from the filmmakers themselves. Could the brakes have been put on because of MGM's financial woes? Possibly.
Continued below the jump
Credits Report: Quantum of Solace
Filed under: Action, Music & Musicals, Fandom, James Bond, Daniel Craig, Trailers and Clips
I've been a bit of a lapsed Bond-ophile as the series has evolved over the years. I grew up with Roger Moore's slightly more campy Bond, and as an adult I worked my way through the Connery years for a little historical perspective...and yes, I even gave Timothy Dalton a try. But by the time Pierce Brosnan had stepped in I had tuned out. The arrival of Daniel Craig as our new Bond was the chance to reignite a franchise, and say what you will about Casino Royale, (and there is plenty to complain about, which for the purposes of time and brevity, I won't get into here) Craig proved that he could hold his ground as 007. But no matter what I may have thought about Royale, by the time the credits rolled on Quantum of Solace, all was forgiven.
So today's Credits Report might be a bit of a cheat because really, it's about two scenes: the opening car chase, and the iconic Bond theme by Alica Keys and Jack White. So first let's get to that car chase. Well, you can't have Bond without a little vehicular mayhem and Forster delivers with expert uses of sound and stunts. We even get Bond delivering a rare moment of cheekiness before those opening chords of Solace's theme.
After the jump; a few words about Keys and White's 'Bond Song' and two worthy additions to Bond's canon of car chases and snazzy credit sequences...
Terrific Trailers: Casino Royale
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Movie Marketing, James Bond, Daniel Craig, Trailers and Clips
If the true measure of a good trailer is that it makes you want to see the movie that's being advertised, my definition of a terrific trailer is one that makes you want to see a movie again -- after you've already seen it several times. The trailer for Martin Campbell's Casino Royale fits that definition to a "T."
Granted, any trailer for a James Bond movie has the advantage of familiarity. Yet that same familiarity can breed contempt, and the last two Bond flicks with Pierce Brosnan (The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day) had soured me on the spy that I once loved. The casting of blonde, undersized Daniel Craig did not inspire much confidence. But the Casino Royale trailer really raised my expectations, and the movie itself fully delivered on its promise. I've ended up watching the movie multiple times since its release.
In retrospect, the trailer gives away bits and pieces from the entire movie, but it starts smart by spending its first thirty seconds in black and white, then shifting to color and introducing everyone we need to know, squeezing in a bit of cheesecake (Eva Green in an evening gown), a touch of beefcake (Daniel Craig emerging from the ocean), and then revving up to full-tilt action, accompanied by a jazzed-up version of the James Bond theme music. Watching the trailer reminds me of all the high points and makes we want to see it again ... right now!
After the jump: Watch the Casino Royale trailer.
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
Tim Robbins Joins 'The Green Lantern'
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