Steven Soderbergh's two-part Che Guevara biopic has been shrouded in mystery and controversy for so long, it's hard to believe the world is finally going to see it. It's like pulling teeth to get some biopics to the theatre, isn't it? In case you were beginning to doubt its existence again, two new photos of Benicio del Toro have surfaced online. Once again, the likeness is downright eerie.
At this point, as Eric Kohn reported, it is still set to screen at Cannes. However, only one half (The Argentine) has a U.S. distributor in Focus Features. Guerilla does not. Neither have release dates. (I'm going on basis of IMDB; quite possibly no one has updated info on Guerilla, or they are being combined and no one said anything.) That could all change after Cannes, and I hope it does. I want to see the whole thing, controversy or not. Don't you?
While I'm still not convinced that North American audiences are ready for the strange genius that is Steve Coogan, at least they will get the chance to have a little taste. The first poster for Andy Fleming's comedy Hamlet 2 has arrived in our inbox (see to the right, and click to enlarge). So in case anyone was confused, the poster (and R-rated trailer) makes it clear that this movie is going to be packed to the brim with poop jokes.
Coogan stars as a hapless drama teacher in danger of losing his job. In an attempt to drum up some interest in his drama class, he writes the sequel to Hamlet. Now, as any good English student knows, everyone dies at the end of Hamlet (oops, 400-year- old spoiler alert), so where can you go from there? It turns out you make a politically incorrect musical with numbers like Rock Me, Sexy Jesus.
After the gut-wrenching terror of No Country for Old Men (I haven't been that tense in a movie theater since, well, ever), I can safely say that I am incredibly relieved that the Coens' next film, Burn After Reading, looks like it is going to be a lot more fun. First Showing now has some stills from the Coens' black comedy, and it would appear that the brothers are returning to what I like to call their 'Raising Arizona roots.'
Burn is the story of a CIA agent (played by George Clooney) who is assigned to investigate the case of a former agent named Ozzie Cox (John Malkovich) who has taken his revenge on the agency by writing a tell-all memoir. When Cox's ex-wife (played by Tilda Swinton) steals the only copy and leaves it behind at her gym, the gym's owner (Frances McDormand) and star personal trainer (Brad Pitt) see an opportunity to engage in a little blackmail.
The Coen flick just got the nod to open the Venice Film Festival this year, but Burn will not be making an appearance at Cannes this year (which is a little strange considering the luck they had at the French festival last year). This makes it zero for two for Pitt now that his other high-profile film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, also failed to make the list for Cannes. Burn After Reading is scheduled for wide release on September 12th, 2008.
Great day in the morning! Two of my favorite actors on the planet are joining the cast of Sam Mendes' increasingly promising 2009 comedy, which has yet to find a title. According to a Focus Features press release that landed in my inbox, Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara will round out an ensemble that already includes John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Toni Colette, Cheryl Hines and Allison Janney. The screenplay was co-written by McSweeney's founder and Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius author Dave Eggers and novelist Vendela Vida. The film "follows the journey of an expectant couple as they travel the U.S. in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family."
O'Hara is probably the funniest woman on the planet, and Daniels can bring heart and humanity to any film, so this is good news indeed. With Christopher Guest taking a break from making the movies that have been her bread and butter over the years, O'Hara can use the high-profile work; her only screen appearance this year or last has been in the underrated Penelope.
Mendes also has the DiCaprio-Winslet reunion movie Revolutionary Road in the works -- it will headline the 2008 Oscar season -- but this new project will be his first stab at comedy. Eggers co-wrote the adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are with Spike Jonze, which should finally see the light of day next year as well.
We haven't had much luck with female comic book heroes, perhaps because the only ones that have made it to the screen have been halfhearted spin-offs from male-led franchises. Audiences quite justifiably said "no, thank you" to Elektra and Catwoman. Rogue wants to change that by adaptingHack/Slash, a female-led comic book that's actually distinctive, with a protagonist who is no one's sidekick, thank you very much. Justin Marks, who is also writing the upcoming Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li for Fox, will take a pass at the screenplay, and music video and commercial director Todd Lincoln will make the film his feature debut.
Hack/Slash tells the story of Cassie Hack, a cute goth girl who survives an attack by a brutal slasher villain named the Lunch Lady, recruits an enormous sidekick named Vlad, and travels the country taking out slashers and serial killers wherever she finds them. As you might expect, the comic book has horror and comedy elements, and the movie is expected to have the same. If nothing else, this sounds like it might please the legions of Buffy fans who have been waiting for someone to take the Vampire Slayer's place. And horror geeks might be pleased to have something that toys with their genre's conventions, though I would as soon not witness the return of Kevin Williamson.
If you're familiar with the source material, please weigh in below.
Toni Collette has joined the cast of the still-untitled Sam Mendes relationship film -- you know, the one starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, and being penned by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Collette will be playing a college professor and close friend of the young couple -- two folks who are scouring the country for a place to settle and raise their child, and Collette's character feels that it'll be dysfunctional no matter where they end up. Smart lady!
The movie pairs Collette up again with Big Beach producers Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf, who produced Little Miss Sunshine. Focus is hoping to capture a bit of that magic, since they gave up their claim on that enormous indie hit.
Despite all the awards attention it received, Joe Wright's Atonement still sounds too much like a lushly romantic period melodrama for my personal taste. Still, it's one of those movies you probably need to experience yourself before deciding if the praise was too lavish (Ryan Stewart thought it was a "stunning achievement") or the criticism too harsh. The DVD from Universal Studios includes deleted scenes, two "making of" features, and an audio commentary by the director.
From all that I've read, Southland Tales sounds like an astonishing train wreck. Nick Schager began his review for Cinematical by writing: "Let me present Exhibit A in the case against granting talented young filmmakers extensive creative autonomy." Given my perverse nature, that makes me want to see Richard Kelly's futuristic epic even more. The DVD from Sony Pictures includes a "featurette" and an animated short.
Steep presents thrilling footage of big mountain skiers who swoosh down incredibly steep slopes. As I noted in my review, though, I felt it raised more questions than it wanted to answer. The DVD from Sony Pictures includes an audio commentary by director Mark Obenhaus with some of the skiers, photo montages, and an additional interview with one of the sport's masters.
Though it was ignored during last fall's awards season, Mike Newell's Love in the Time of Cholera might be ripe for discovery. (On the other hand, Jeffrey M. Andersonreally didn't like it.) Javier Bardem and Benjamin Bratt star in an adaptation of the novel by Gabriel García Márquez. The DVD from New Line includes an audio commentary by Newell, a "making of" feature, and deleted scenes.
John Krasinski has had a bit of a rough start transitioning his TV career into a movie career. For starters, have you seen License to Wed? Luckily for my favorite office drone, his upcoming projects look a lot more promising. Variety reports that Krasinski, SNL's Maya Rudolph, and Cheryl Hines have signed to star in Sam Mendes' new untitled comedy. News of the film first appeared back in January, and just over a month later, three top-notch comedians have signed on for the film. That has got to be a good sign, right?
Celebrity novelist Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida (author of Girls of the Verge and Egger's wife) wrote the script for the romantic comedy. Eggers made his name with his memoir, Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, but is still relatively new to the screenwriting trade. In the film, Krasinski and Rudolph will play an expectant couple traveling around the country looking for a place to settle down and start a family.
If you have ever read anything written by Eggers or the McSweeney's 'brand' then you know that this slight premise is just the kind of story you would expect. Knowing Egger's penchant for personal touches, I'm sure some of the details of his life with his own family found their way into the script. The production is expected to start shooting this April in Connecticut, and the film is set for release in 2009.
Early in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, the title heroine played by Frances McDormand, a down-on-her luck "governess of last resort" who keeps getting dismissed by huffy high-class London employers, strolls the streets, dejected and down. On the soundtrack? A jazzy, swinging version of the Depression-era song "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" And that sweet-sour mix of bright horns and sad sentiments, swinging tempos and bleak prospects, in many ways sets the tone for the film. Adapting Winifred Watson's 1939 novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a nearly perfect piece of entertainment for grownups, as Miss Pettigrew's desperation inspires her to fake, fib and flail her way into a job as the social secretary to American actress/singer Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a young woman in severe need of professional assistance and adult supervision. It's fairly easy to predict the rough curves of Miss Pettigrew's plot within moments of meeting the leads -- Miss Pettigrew will gain joy and confidence from her exposure to Ms. Lafosse, while Ms. Lafosse will acquire wisdom and character from Miss Pettigrew's example -- but the delights of this film are in the details, and everyone involved shapes this seemingly-featherweight entertainment with expert, steady hands.
Miss Pettigrew is not, in fact, a social secretary; however, she's prepared to do whatever is required. And so, in her way, is Delysia; the luxurious flat where she receives Miss Pettigrew is, it turns out, not hers. Delysia is staying there as the lover of nightclub owner Nick (Mark Strong), which makes it all the more necessary that Miss Pettigrew help get Delysia's overnight guest Phil (Tom Payne) -- son of the producer of a show Delysia hopes to land the lead in -- out the door as swiftly as possible before Nick returns. Miss Pettigrew is mortified, but hardly paralyzed, and she swiftly takes charge of matters. And, in the tradition of British farce, as soon as that crisis is averted, another is ready to take its place. ...
Even though a lot of fans of The Coen Brothers haven't been all that happy with the results of their collaborations with George Clooney (I think I was one of the eight people in the world who actually enjoyed Intolerable Cruelty.), I've still got a good feeling about their CIA comedy, Burn After Reading. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Focus Features will release the dark comedy on September 12th of this year.
Burn has an all-star cast including Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, and Tilda Swinton. I would guess that it's been like 'old home week' on set; we all know that Clooney and Pitt are buddies, and Swinton could be an honorary member of the boys club after her Oscar winning performance in Michael Clayton (and judging by her acceptance speech, she seems comfortable with a little verbal rough-housing).
The comedy stars Malkovich as Ozzie Cox, a CIA vet who gets fired for being an alcoholic, and writes out his revenge in a memoir. His soon-to-be ex-wife (Swinton) accidentally leaves the memoir at a gym, where it falls into the hands of a trainer, Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), and the gym's owner Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), who want to exploit the discovery. It sounds like a pretty 'fluffy' flick, but I think we could all use a break from the Coens' more "intense" point of view, wouldn't you agree, friendo?
In a quiet post-Oscar week, Austria's The Counterfeiters (Sony Pictures Classics), winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, kept its position at the top of the charts, earning $10,050 per screen at 18 locations, according to estimates compiled by Leonard Klady at Movie City News. Klady noted that the film "doubled its playdates and box office but appears short of the commercial traction (or social vibrancy) of last year's triumphant The Lives of Others."
Chop Shop (Koch Lorber) performed very nicely at its single-theater engagement in New York City's Film Forum, grossing $8,900. Kim Voynar described it as one of her favorite films from last year's festival circuit; filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart) follows a 12-year-old orphan struggling to survive on the mean streets of New York. Chop Shop continues its run at Film Forum through March 11.
Other new indie releases struggled to find audiences. Chicago 10 (Roadside Attractions), "appreciable as one of the most creative and entertaining documentary films in years," did the best, pulling in $3,030 per-screen at 14 locations. Playing on 75 screens, City of Men (Miramax), "neither as stylistically fresh nor as powerfully raw as City of God," scratched out $1,570 per engagement, while Bonneville (SenArts), "a road trip movie for spunky older chicks" starring Kathy Bates, Joan Allen and Jessica Lange, and Romulus, My Father (Magnolia Pictures), "an incredibly slow-paced film that relies on the strength of its actors to thrive" starring Eric Bana, trailed behind, earning $1,410 and $1,070 per screen, respectively, in limited engagements.
To quote an official MPAA movie ratings poster: "THE SYSTEM CAN'T WORK UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM."
How many NC-17-rated films did you see in the theater in the past year? Maybe one? That is if Ang Lee's Lust, Caution even played in your 'hood. And considering the most screens it ever played on in any single week was 143, I highly doubt it (understandably, it could have played in more than 143 locations over the course of its 20 weeks in theaters, but I doubt many more).
But if there had been more NC-17-rated films, and they actually played near you, would you have gone to see them? And if so, why? Because you expect something more titillating than the other releases to choose from? And if not, why? Are you afraid of others thinking you are going to see something dirty? Are you embarrassed about both attending and watching graphic sex on screen? Do you correlate the experience to going to a porno theater?
The Other Boleyn Girl, based on Philippa Gregory's novel about the relationship between Henry VIII (Eric Bana) and Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson) Boleyn, gives you everything you've come to expect from a modern historical drama. The costumes are gorgeous; the lighting's suitably muted. The drawing-room scenes are like something out of Rembrandt; the kitchen scenes like something out of Bosch. There are a great number of shots of people striding purposefully out of dark rooms, or of horses racing across the landscape, their speed unimpeded by the gravity of the news their riders bring. Personal squabbles turn into political struggles; moments of passion are contemplated as possible foundations for 100-year dynasties. There are fights and tights, gowns and frowns, tears and blood and sweat.
But, at the same time, The Other Boleyn Girl fails to give you anything other than what you've come to expect from the modern costume drama; it doesn't have that little something extra that could make it truly exceptional. The film lacks the baroque lunacy of Elizabeth, or the moral weight of A Man for All Seasons, the silken sexual gamesmanship of Dangerous Liaisons or the rich metaphors of Girl with a Pearl Earring. The Other Boleyn Girl, to quote another great costume drama, has no spur to prick the sides of its intent; it just sort of goes from happy days at the family estate to grim ones at the chopping block, drifting like a lazy sailboat whose sails are occasionally filled with enough shouting to nudge the plot from one scene to the next.
Analyzing the weekend box office returns, Leonard Klady of Movie City News saw "no great Oscar box office surge," though No Country for Old Men enjoyed an upward swing; based on his estimates, Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar winner The Counterfeiters(Sony Pictures Classics) topped the indie charts. Hailing from Austria, The Counterfeiters tells "one of the most interesting stories to come out of World War II," wrote Christopher Campbell, though he felt it was "not quite a great film." The Counterfeiters averaged $12,330 per-screen at the seven locations where it played.
French master Jacques Rivette's latest, The Duchess of Langeais(IFC Films) struck Ryan Stewart as similar to La Vie en Rose "in that it works just well enough to support a dynamic performance but contains too many structural oddities, fights too many directorial idiosyncracies and stifles its own momentum too much to succeed on the whole." Rivette's fans came out at both theaters where it opened, averaging $11,250 per screen, according to Box Office Mojo.
I'm a grown woman that has been a fan of Neil Gaiman for many years; and still, Coraline manages to freak me out every time I see those little button eyes. The first teaser for the big-screen version of Gaiman's fantasy is now over at MovieWeb. Granted, it would probably be a lot more exciting if it was actually in 3-D (the trailer tells you to put on your glasses, so this must be the one that will screen in theaters), but for anyone who is a fan of Gaiman's dark fairy tales, you'll be glad to know that the film seems to have gotten the tone of Gaiman's work pitch perfect. Coraline is the story of a small girl who travels into a fantasy world where everything is familiar but nothing is quite right. There is an 'Other Mother' who is the spitting image of her own, but with the frightening distinction of having buttons for eyes. Coraline's adventure leads her to become the savior of her family and the other children trapped in this world, while hopefully getting them all back to the real world.
So, could it be a little too creepy for kids? (The tag line sounds like something from a supernatural thriller.) Maybe, but I miss the old days when children's entertainment had a little more 'bite.' Coraline is scheduled for release in 3-D format on January 18th, 2009.
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After the gut-wrenching terror of No Country for Old Men (I haven't been that tense in a movie theater since, well, ever), I can safely say that I am incredibly relieved that the Coens' next film, 
Great day in the morning! Two of my favorite actors on the planet are joining the cast of 
We haven't had much luck with female comic book heroes, perhaps because the only ones that have made it to the screen have been halfhearted spin-offs from male-led franchises. Audiences quite justifiably said "no, thank you" to 
Toni Collette has joined the cast of the 
Despite all the awards attention it received, Joe Wright's 
Even though a lot of fans of The Coen Brothers haven't been all that happy with the 
In a quiet post-Oscar week, Austria's 
Analyzing the weekend box office returns, 
I'm a grown woman that has been a fan of 
Cinematical's 2008 Cannes Preview
EXCLUSIVE: 'City of Ember' Poster Premiere!
Tons of New 'Quantum of Solace' Images!
