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Michael Fassbender Goes From One Bronte To the Next
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Independent, Romance, Casting, Mystery & Suspense, Focus Features, Newsstand
The Brontes are all the rage for adaptation right now. It's undoubtedly due to Edward and Bella bestowing their favor on Wuthering Heights, and had they chosen Great Expectations, perhaps we'd see Dickens adaptations flinging themselves to the big screen. I love corsets and cravats, so I'm not going to complain, and I'm certainly not going to whine if Cary Fukunaga gets this cast for Jane Eyre. Variety is reporting that Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska are in talks to play Jane and Rochester for Fukunaga, and oh, how torrid it would be!This is actually the second time Fassbender has circled a Bronte adaptation. Last May, he was said to be in talks for Wuthering Heights, but Ed Westwick stepped into that particular waistcoat. It's a shame. I think Fassbender would have made an excellent Heathcliff, and may have been the first one to actually snarl, bang his head against a tree, and slap people convincingly. But he will make a very simmering Rochester, and is the only actor who could top Toby Stephens' wonderful turn in 2006.
Wasikowska is still a bit of a dark horse. She's becoming one of those much-discussed names, but most of us have yet to really meet her until Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland hits theaters. She's very pretty, but is just "ordinary" (if that doesn't sound too terrible) enough to fit the part of plain Jane, and as an Aussie, she'll be able to turn on an English accent better than Ellen Page. If this is the Jane Eyre that makes it to the screen, I'll be happy. Let the eerie screams, mysterious fires, and lingering looks commence.
Sam Worthington Gets Gritty in 'American Crime'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Casting, Deals, Noir, Scripts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Few of us have had the chance to read Rick Remender's upcoming series, The Last Days of American Crime, but it's already tapped for the big-screen treatment. To sweeten the deal, American Crime already has a face. An Australian one. Mania is reporting that Sam Worthington has signed on to play the series' star criminal, Graham Brick. American Crime is set in a near-future where the government has found a way to kill the criminal impulse in its citizens. That's good for everyone but the criminals, and chaos erupts as the unsavory element goes mad trying to get in one last job. One of these men is Graham Brick, who is in the midst of planning a big heist, and gets to watch all his best laid plans fall apart in a bloody fashion. I read the preview Radical handed out at Comic-Con this year, and like all previews, it was too short to really get a handle on the story. But the art was incredible, it was ridiculously violent, and it had that slimy feeling of Sin City. You can check out three pages here, and Radical has 15 pages up on MySpace. The first issue is scheduled to hit stands in December.
Remender will be penning the screenplay himself, and Radical will be producing it under their film shingle. We'll supposedly be getting a studio, a director, and more cast-members very soon, but it's tough to get excited without having read issue #1. Still, if this is really the mix of James Ellroy and David Mamet's Heist that Remender promises, Crime will be something to look out for.
More 'Thor': Idris Elba Guards the Bridge To Asgard
Filed under: Action, Casting, Paramount, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Asgard has just added another brilliant actor to their semi-immortal ranks. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Idris Elba has joined the cast of Thor as Heimdall, guardian of the Bifrost Bridge. He's the man you have to pass if you hope to start some stuff in Asgard, and as he's all-seeing and all-knowing, good luck trying to kick his butt.Elba's casting is undoubtedly going to cause a bit of a stir, as the Heimdall of the Marvel comics is a redhaired Caucasian. In the original Nordic myths, he was even called "the whitest of the gods" which seems like a thousand tasteless jokes in the making. (For the record, "whitest" refers to the light he emanated, not his skin color.) I imagine a lot of people are going to make those jokes, complain about things being PC, and just be very unpleasant.
But you know what? The Asgardians are gods. They can be any color they want, and should be. Marvel's Thor is also distinctly different than the original Norse myths, and I think a diverse cast is a fantastic and appropriate idea. Plus, this is Idris Elba. He's the kind of badass you want on that Bifrost Bridge, guarding the city gates, and having throwdowns with Thor. (He's always trying to prevent everyone's favorite blonde from going in or out of Asgard.) Kudos to Kenneth Branagh for recognizing that, and for creating an Ultimate Heimdall in the course of pre-production.
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand
Retire. I am starting to hate that word in Hollywood. Most of the time it doesn't mean what it suggests. Retirement means ending work, maybe taking on a side gig if you really need to or are really bored, but for the most part, it's ending life in the workforce and enjoying a life of leisure. In cinema, however, it seems to be anyone who is taking a break from the biz. Luc Besson's "retired," as is Sean Connery. Now ... Robert Downey Jr.?The ever popular actor has told Entertainment Weekly that he might quit acting. "I've never had it this good -- this is my day in the sun -- and I certainly don't want to look a gift horse in the molars. But [my wife] Susan and I want to begin to be in our lives as much as we are in our jobs. I'd love just to sit here and say, 'What movie's playing tonight?' I'd love to finish the new book about D-day I'm reading. I love painting, I love music." And if you can get through that without your gut falling out in dread: "But here's the thing: I can only be a guy on a call sheet probably, I don't know, maybe a couple more times. It's something I'm so grateful to have in my palm, and yet I already see its inevitable decay."
He does leave room for hope by saying: "If Sherlock Holmes performs well, I could be busy for the next 5 or 7 or 10 years." But who knows whether that's just him appeasing potential fan backlash, dread at the thought of never catching a break, feeling uncertain in his career, or some other reason altogether. But if it's true and does happen, I shudder to think of Hollywood without his talent.
OMG! Rob Pattinson In the 'Remember Me' Trailer!
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Fandom, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Ladies, I have important news: we've got another Robert Pattinson movie to "squeee" over. The New Moon heartthrob stars in Summit's romantic drama Remember Me, in which RPattz apparently gets to -- dare I say it? -- act his little butt off. By which I mean, throwing punches and yelling at James Bond and being sensitive and making out with Emilie de Ravin, all while rocking an American accent! Sigh. I can't wait.
Ok, so Remember Me is a gimme - of course every Twilight fan is going to run to buy tickets to watch
Watch the trailer debut for Remember Me after the jump, stat!
Sean Connery Ditches Retirement to Play ... a Skateboarding Veterinarian?
Filed under: Animation, Independent, Casting, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand
Good actors never really retire, they just find new and easier ways to work. Sean Connery loudly proclaimed his intention to retire from the silver screen, but he's decided to make a bit of a return. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Connery will lend his voice to the CGI animated movie Sir Billi, an independent film created by husband-and-wife team Sascha and Tessa Hartmann. Connery is an executive producer on the project, and has been heavily involved with its production. The movie will have Connery playing "a retired, skateboarding veterinarian" who rescues an illegal fugitive who just happens to be a beaver. (I now wish this could cross over into The Beaver.) The Hartmanns have been working on the project for five years, and it's now set for a 2010 release.
The final touch is apparently a Shirley Bassey tune, and THR reports that she's signed up to record a song titled The Guardian of the Highlands for the film. Let me repeat that: Bassey singing a song called The Guardian of the Highlands. It's now my favorite song of all time, and I haven't even heard it.
So, if you've been lying awake wondering what Connery has been up to, now you know. He's been overseeing a charming Scottish cartoon, and lending his slurry brogue to a skateboarding veterinarian. But I don't this heralds a return to acting -- remember, Connery was able to literally phone in this performance and head back to the golf course, enjoying the fruits of retirement.
Fan Rant: The Ridiculous, Disgusting Photoshopping Must End!
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand, Images, Posters
I love image editors like Photoshop. They've allowed me to make boring pictures funky, wipe the years off old and worn memories, and even get rid of the errant hair or blemish to make that nice photo truly shine. But I would give it all up and wipe my hands of them if it meant that the programs would be pulled out of the hands of Hollywood and the image-fixing machine.
We're getting bombarded by all sides. It's bad enough that lazy frakking poster creators actually shovel out horse poop like the embarrassingly terrible poster for The Takers, one that doesn't even bother trying to match the skin tones of the stars' heads with the stunt bodies, or thinks Paul Walker has massive Science of Sleep-like hands.
But we're also getting a never-ending onslaught of body de-hancements. I really can think of no better word for the folks like Ralph Lauren who are Photoshopping their models into sick, skeletal bodies. Adding to the pack is W Magazine, as BoingBoing shares. They scored an interview with Demi Moore and threw her up on the cover. While she may have discussed her dislike of being called a cougar, methinks she'd have more of an issue with what they did to her body. She's already ridiculously thin, but still, they edit. It looks like they tried to give her an "hourglass" shape (I use that term begrudgingly because it really doesn't apply when we're talking about skinny women who are Photoshopped to look curvy.), but worst of all -- they wiped out part of her already pencil-thin legs and were too lazy to make sure it matched. You can see part in the image above, look at the hip on the right, or in its full glory after the jump.
Does Pattinson's Edward Cullen Make Men Feel Inadequate?
Filed under: New Releases, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand, Fan Rant
On the heels of speculation that Twilight was making abstinence fashionable comes a very amusing bit of hand-wringing from Details magazine. Reporting from the Ground Zero of Forks, Washington during Stephanie Meyer Day, Details discovered that it wasn't just impressionable teenagers pinning their hopes on Edward, married women were also carrying a torch for the eternal teenager: "Gentlemen, your wives have something they want to tell you. The polite way to put it is that the pressures and demands of running a home in the 21st century have a way of siphoning off the platelets from even the most red-blooded of romantic unions. To be blunt: Life is a grind, and our wives are bored sh*tless. Edward Cullen has, for millions of passion-starved better halves worldwide, become the undead embodiment of everything the contemporary schlub seems to have shed: danger, poetry, strength, speed, eternal devotion, and an insatiable hunger for the jugular."
The modern man is finding it impossible to compete with Edward, and Details worries about the erotic dreams he's spawning in married women. The magazine listens dutifully to female confessions that range from enthusiastic to cagey, and lends sympathy to the wives whose husbands "don't get" Twilight or what it provides. "But with life so crazy, this is my escape - Twilight. Edward. Men get into that comfortable rut once the relationship is there. Life gets so busy ... Men and women both, they lose that need to impress each other."
Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney Developing 'Alien Legion'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Comics never really die. They become cult classics, cherished until they're revived, republished, and optioned by Disney. Such is the tale of Alien Legion, which is soon to enjoy a revival that'll have many a comic fan claiming they were there from the beginning. (I won't be one of them -- I'll openly confess that it passed me right by.)Creator Carl Potts described Alien Legion as "the Foreign Legion in space," and it's probably best described as melting pot of military and sci-fi, as Star Trek, Star Wars and The Dirty Dozen all influenced its vision of intergalactic soldiers banding together for honor, fortune, and adventure. It was one of Marvel's longest running series under their Epic Comics' banner, and it's been one that fans have continued to champion. Now it's being republished in a beautiful Dark Horse omnibus (which means out-of-the-loop losers like myself can finally read it), and getting four brand new issues from Dark Horse starting in 2010.
It's also on its way to the big screen. USA Today sat down all its creators, and Potts revealed that Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney were currently developing a feature film out of the series. Derek Haas and Michael Brandt are currently working on the third draft of the script, and Disney is undoubtedly hoping it could become another blockbuster franchise. I'd love to see the Mouse House actually develop a viable sci-fi franchise of their own, and Alien Legion is certainly a very promising series. Let's hope its cult of fans are rewarded with a good adaptation after all their years of devotion, and they don't resent the rest of us for coming to the party so late.
'Captain Nemo' Is Dead in the Water at Disney
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Executive shifts, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
The klaxons are sounding for the Nautilus and Captain Nemo's origin story. Variety reports that Disney has quietly shelved the project, and McG has been released from duty in order to seek better fortune ashore. The project was scheduled to begin production this February, and was on a fast track under Dick Cook. But as you probably remember, Cook was shown the door a few months ago. Many of Disney's big projects seem to be left dangling as stars like Johnny Depp decide whether they're sailing or staying ashore. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo is just the latest, though Disney insists big popcorn flicks will still be a focus for them.
Leagues had already been a revolving door of rumors, with Will Smith said to be in the running to play Nemo. Justin Marks was originally penning the script, but was replaced by Randall Wallace this past July. Variety reports that the project was being penned by Bill Marsilli, so presumably Wallace was off as well. While it's not unusual to have three screenwriters on a project, it doesn't sound like this submarine had a reliable captain. Perhaps the Nautilus will sail again as a proper steampunk picture that explores his romantic Indian past, and not a slapdash summerfest.
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
Jaycee Dugard's Horrific Story to Get a Sleazy Adaptation
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