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Damon, Winslet Lead Soderbergh's 'Contagion'
Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, Casting
Once again, our friends at The Playlist have the inside scoop on a Steven Soderbergh film. Having previously been the go-to site for updated casting info on the filmmaker's current project, Knockout, they now bring first word on what will be his next effort: Contagion. The ensemble action-thriller, which is reportedly being called a "terrifying" cross between the Bourne movies and Soderbergh's own Traffic (with some obvious reference to Outbreak), involves interweaving stories set on four continents during the outbreak of a deadly virus. Contagion will star now-regular Soderbergh lead Matt Damon along with Oscar-caliber thesps Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard. The script was penned by Scott Z. Burns, who wrote Soderbergh's The Informant! and co-wrote The Bourne Ultimatum. According to an earlier posting by The Playlist, the idea for Contagion actually spawned from the scene in The Informant! when Damon's character rants about germs. It's possible this film will therefore treat the central virus metaphorically, as does Damon's speech. If the film does contain subtext commenting on the travel of information and misinformation, though, it would certainly bring about comparisons to Babel.
Casting Bites: From Weisz's 'Dream' to Wasikowska's 'Eyre'
Filed under: Action, Drama, Romance, Casting
On this Tuesday, lots of female casting bites are hitting the net:First, Rachel Weisz has found her next gig. Variety reports that she's signed on to star with Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts in Jim Sheridan's Dream House. Craig and Weisz play a couple who move from Gotham to a New England town, and then discover that a mother and her two children were murdered in their new home. Watts plays the neighbor who knew the family, and Toronto is standing in for New England as production kicked off on Sunday.
And the rest of the goodies come from a post over at Deadline Hollywood Daily:
Cate Blanchett has signed onto Hanna, the Saoirse Ronan film that just cast Eric Bana. There's no mention of who she will play, but the film focuses on a CIA-bred killer 14-year-old girl "hellbent on finding her father, and uses the survival skills she learned from him on anybody who gets in her way."
Amber Tamblyn, meanwhile, has grabbed a starring lead opposite James Franco in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. You know -- the story of the man who got his arm caught whilst rock climbing and had to saw it off himself to survive. Tamblyn will play his girlfriend in memories that get him through the ordeal.
Finally, we've got our Jane Eyre. Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) has signed, after circling the production last November with Michael Fassbender. As for the Fish Tank star, there hasn't been official word following last year's announcement, but he seems to be signed on, which probably means a no-go for Wuthering Heights and Andrea Arnold. But it does allow him to get his May-December groove on again, moving from a young character named Mia who falls for him in Fish Tank, to all-out romance with the next youngin' Mia in Jane Eyre.
Oxford Film Fest: Voices 'Ole' and New
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Independent, Festival Reports, Fandom, Oxford Film Festival
According to a detailed manifesto on its website, the Oxford Film Festival began in 2003 "as a project of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council... committed to celebrating the art of independent cinema." What the festival actually is, however, is so much more: a four-day celebration where filmmakers, industry professionals, critics, and cinephiles gather together, get to know one another, and share in a community's collective appreciation for film in all of its forms. Cozily entrenched in the businesses and residences of Oxford, Mississippi, the town that the picturesque college Ole Miss calls home, OFF is a modest, maturing sibling of mainstay festivals like Sundance and South By Southwest whose smalltown charm bypasses superficial spectacle in favor of more substantial rewards.
The festival runs four days and features more than 80 different offerings, including narrative features, documentaries, short films, animated works, and experimental projects. I was enlisted at the last minute to serve as a member of OFF's documentary jury, so I was unfortunately unable to attend the Opening Night screening of director Joshua Goldin's Wonderful World, but took a break from some 20 hours of verite filmmaking to attend a party at Oxford's Southside Gallery. In attendance were several of the filmmakers who brought their movies to the fest, as well as an array of other participants and locals without whose presence the festival simply wouldn't have its singularly intimate feel.
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Romance, New on DVD, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
A Serious Man
Coen Brothers. Academy Award-nominated. Need more? "The culmination of their lives, reminiscent both of their own suburban childhoods in the '60s, and of their cinematic successes over the last twenty-five years." Michael Stuhbarg stars as "a man utterly at a loss to explain his life's severe turn for the worse; he is a man desperate for answers." (Monika Bartyzel, Cinematical.) Buy it.
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Couples Retreat
Shameless it may be, but "you end up laughing more than expected," I wrote in my review. Vince Vaughan, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Kali Hawk star. The comedy is broad and silly, but harsher truths occasionally emerge. Rent it.
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The Time Traveler's Wife
Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams star in an adaptation of the novel by Audrey Niffenegger. "Adds up to a mildly successful time-passer, though one too concerned with trying to target its audience rather than with trying to figure out where it's actually coming from." (Jeffrey M. Anderson, Cinematical.) Rent it.
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The Stepfather
"The most intense Lifetime Channel Original Movie that the Lifetime Channel never made. ... [It] just isn't enough." (Peter Hall, Horror Squad.) Skip it.
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Also out: Serious Moonlight, Free Style, Emma, Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic.
After the jump: Indies on DVD, library titles on Blu-ray, and Collector's Corner!
Interview: Pierce Brosnan on Polanski, Percy, and R-Patz
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, Celebrities and Controversy, New in Theaters, Interviews, James Bond
February is about to get really interesting for Pierce Brosnan. A mere week after his debut as a self-proclaimed "horse's ass" (aka Chiron) in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief on February 12, a much smaller and much more controversial thriller he's in will be hitting art house screens in New York and Los Angeles. Brosnan is one of the heavy-hitting stars in Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, the movie Polanski was doing post-production on when he was arrested in Switzerland on an outstanding warrant from 1978, when he fled the US before being sentenced for having sex with a minor. (Polanski finished the film while under house arrest.) Pierce Brosnan, who plays ex-Prime Minister Adam Lang, is part of an impressive ensemble; Olivia Williams is Lang's intensely intelligent wife Ruth, while Ewan McGregor is the titular writer who reluctantly signs on to help Lang with his memoirs after the first writer turns up dead.
Brosnan spoke to Cinematical about working with the legendary figure on The Ghost Writer, as well as Percy Jackson, dealing with Robert Pattinson's screaming fans on the set of Remember Me, and much more.
First Look at Megan Fox and Mickey Rourke in 'Passion Play'
Filed under: Drama, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Images
It's either this year's The Wrestler, or the film equivalent of that nasty drunk at the bar who's just slowly making the biggest ass of himself with each passing minute. In the works for 10 years now, Mitch Glazer's Passion Play has just wrapped production and star Mickey Rourke sat down for a brief chat with Entertainment Weekly in which, among other things, he calls Megan Fox "probably the best young actress I've ever worked with" and at the same time bashes one or both of his Wrestler co-stars by saying "there wasn't much chemistry there." Oh Mickey, what will you say next?
In Passion Play, Rourke plays a down-and-out trumpet player who looks to a young winged angel for redemption in 1950s Los Angeles. On Fox's character, Rourke notes, "She has wings, so she was sort of an oddity trapped in a carnival act. She's been a prisoner her whole life, and she has no understanding of trust. She's very vulnerable and delicate." It's not hard to see similarities with Rourke's character in The Wrestler, but he tries to distance himself from that film and its story (in an odd way) by criticizing the lack of chemistry on set and then noting: "As far as the redemption is concerned, it's almost fate. It's not so much that my character is seeking redemption, it's almost like it falls in my lap by accident. And I try and hold on to it as much as I can."
Check out the rest over at EW. Passion Play will most likely debut at some point in 2010.
'Days of Thunder' Isn't Being Remade
Filed under: Action, Drama, Romance, Paramount, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman
It wasn't a huge hit. It didn't receive good reviews. And it's not really considered a classic by any measure. But Days of Thunder has its fans, and those people would be really pissed if Paramount decided to remake their beloved NASCAR movie. That's why it's surprising that the studio is not following with the traditional Hollywood procedure of redoing, rebooting or otherwise diminishing the original. Instead, according to Variety, Paramount is celebrating Days of Thunder on its 20th anniversary.No, it's not getting a special theatrical re-release nor is it likely that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman will be reunited for a big occasion. Simply, the studio has made a number of licensing deals related to the film's anniversary. Kohls will be selling men's t-shirts with the tagline "You Can't Outrun the Thunder" and Robert Duvall's signature line, "Rubbin' is Racin.'" Also, there's reportedly a downloadable videogame on the way this summer!
It may not sound like much, but there's something to be said for Paramount's idea to spotlight a 20-year-old property. Are they interested in giving back to the small, loyal fanbase? Or, do they hope to acquire new fans -- a new generation of racing fans, for instance -- by promoting the heck out of an archive title with a continued niche audience? The reasoning from the studio is officially thus: "Days of Thunder is a timeless racing film that has maintained a strong following 20 years after its theatrical release."
SXSW Exclusive: 'Red, White & Blue' Teaser Trailer
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, SXSW, Mystery & Suspense, Trailers and Clips
"In Austin Texas, the lives of three young people "Erica, Franki and Nate" intertwine in a fateful, tragic way and head down a rocky and violent road to heart-rending oblivion."Going off the above description from the official SXSW program guide, Red, White & Blue reads like it could be a number of different films, but two names attached to the production hint at what kind of "heart-rending oblivion" it'll be. First off, this is the latest film from The Living and the Dead director Simon Rumley, so we can begin to rule RW&B out as, say, a Havoc-type melodrama about teenagers dipping their toes into life on the other side of the tracks and winding up in over their heads. Second, its roster of producers includes Tim League, which should give anyone familiar with the cinematic tastes of both Fantastic Fest and the Alamo Drafthouse (League is a co-founder of both) an idea of what kind of genre brew will be coming to SXSW in a few weeks time.
But even with those two nuggets, nothing gives as good an idea of what's in store than seeing the beast in motion. And with that, Cinematical is proud to offer you the premiere of Red, White & Blue's first teaser trailer, starring Noah Tyler, Amanda Fuller and Marc Senter.
Be warned, the below teaser is most definitely Not Safe For Work. Nudity and sexual explicitness abound, so keep that in mind before you click on.
Trailer Park: Bending Losers at the Junction
Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Trailer Trash
The Last Airbender
This TV spot that will be playing during the Super Bowl shows some epic grandeur and way cool special effects. Based on the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender (hmmm, wonder why they changed the name) this represents a serious (and welcome) change of style for director M. Night Shyamalan. This one hits on July 2.
The Losers
It takes guts to call your film The Losers because if it tanks even the least talented film critic in the world will have an easy joke to fall back on. Based on a comic book but not having a particularly comic booky feel this is the story of a group of mercenaries out for revenge against the government that framed them. The resemblance to The A-Team wouldn't be so annoying if there wasn't already an A-Team remake on the way. Watch for this on April 9.
Heartless
A young man with a large birth mark on his face learns there are demons living in London and is offered an irresistible deal for helping them. Looks like an interesting modern take on the pact with the devil story. This opens in the U.K. on May 21. No U.S. release info yet.
Cinematical Set Visit: Channing Tatum Talks 'Dear John'
Filed under: Drama, Romance, New Releases, Sony, Movie Marketing, Interviews, War
I have to confess that I don't think I could have picked Channing Tatum out of a line-up before meeting him on the set of Dear John. I knew vaguely that he was one of those incredibly buff Ambercrombie Models, I knew he danced, and knew he was going to be in G.I. Joe, but I didn't have a very precise image of him. As I disembarked from our car, he galloped past me, and I didn't recognize him right away. Shocking!
I think everyone has an image of what they think Tatum must be like. I'm happy to say that you're wrong. For one thing, he's charismatic in a way that I don't think has come across onscreen yet. I hope Dear John changes that for him. In person, he's incredibly warm, friendly, and sweet and no one could stop singing his praises. As you can guess, actors run the gauntlet as far as approachability goes, but there wasn't a smack of phony affability in Tatum. He even gave us all a hug after our interview -- and no, none of us asked -- which is not something actors really do. Come on, I don't want to hug 99% of the people I meet in a professional day. And yes, girls, you can feel every muscle.
Here's our Q&A with Tatum, which Cinematical participated in with UGO and Coming Soon. The questions were not all asked by Cinematical, so we've kept them all in bold as a reference.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'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!?
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