10 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

American writer/director Blake Edwards will always have a special place in my heart for two reasons: 1) He was responsible for making one of my favorite movies of all time, Victor/Victoria, and 2) He showed me a side of Julie Andrews that was about as far from Mary Poppins as you could get (not to mention the man had one of the more memorable Oscar moments in recent history). But personal milestones aside, Edwards is one of the best comedic directors around, and his 1979 flick 10 set the standard for every 'mid-life crisis comedy' to come after it. We all should have known that a remake was inevitable, and Variety has now announced that Hyde Park has secured the rights to remake the classic film.

10 centers on a man named George Webber (played by Dudley Moore), who encounters a young woman on the street, and at the expense of his own relationships, becomes obsessed with this beautiful stranger, even going so far as to follow her on her honeymoon.

The film is probably best known for introducing Bo Derek to the world, but it was also a box office smash that made instant stars out of Derek and Moore. Edwards will serve as an executive producer on the remake, and according to Hyde's execs, it was a battle to get the legendary writer and director to agree to sell the rights. If the movie must be made, then maybe this is a job for Judd Apatow; because if anyone can make a raunchy comedy about a hot girl and an everyday guy, it's him.

Sound off below on who you would like to see rocking those infamous cornrows...

I was trying to think back to when Amanda Peet had her last high-profile starring role, and I realized: she doesn't do them very often. It's surprising, because she seems so ubiquitous, but it's true -- outside of tiny projects like Nigel Cole's A Lot Like Love, she's mostly done lots and lots of (often significant) supporting parts. She's making a somewhat dubious attempt to remedy that by taking the female lead role opposite John Cusack in Roland Emmerich's sci-fi epic 2012. Peet and Cusack will head a cast that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover (as the President) and Oliver Platt.

2012, which was written by Emmerich with his 10,000 BC writing partner (and, uh, composer) Harald Kloser, posits that the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 will herald the end of the world. Cusack's character must open a portal into a parallel universe and enlist his double in the struggle to prevent said apocalypse. The concept is right up my alley, but Emmerich's films -- especially his and Kloser's 10,000 BC -- are not. On the other hand, the two leads are immensely likable, and John Cusack rarely signs on for a genuine stinker, so we'll see.

The movie is scheduled for a July 10, 2009 release barring an actor's strike. Peet, of course, will also appear in a (surprise!) supporting role in this year's The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

I noticed that Lloyd Kaufman's Poultrygeist (subtitled Night of the Chicken Dead) has finally emerged in theaters (currently playing on 1 screen). Kaufman is the president of Troma, a production company and distributor that has survived as an indie for over 30 years, mainly due to salesmanship. By any count, they have been responsible for at least 150 movies, and Kaufman himself has over 200 on his resume. Anyone who has ever frequented a video store has probably come across titles like Blondes Have More Guns (1995), Cannibal! The Musical (1996), Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (1991), Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV (2000) (and, indeed, the entire Toxic Avenger series), Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986), Femme Fontaine: Killer Babe for the C.I.A. (1994), Killer Condom (1996), A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell (1991), Rabid Grannies (1988), Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1991), Surf Nazis Must Die! (1987) and Tromeo and Juliet (1996). They have also distributed such nuggets as Brian De Palma's The Wedding Party (1969), Samuel Fuller's Shark! (1969) and Dario Argento's The Stendhal Syndrome (1996).

In case you haven't noticed yet, Hollywood has become real interested in adapting comic books and graphic novels -- and actors who wouldn't normally take on this kind of material (um, Edward Burns?) are suddenly racing to acquire the next "hot" property. Personally, I've been waiting for Ice Cube to take off his diaper for awhile now; the man hasn't starred in a film that kicked ass since xXx: State of the Union, and even that wasn't very spectacular. Prior to that, he starred in the weird motorcycle flick Torque, but in all honesty I have to go all the way back to 1999 (and Three Kings) to find the last enjoyable film starring Ice Cube. Now, hopefully, that's about to change. Variety reports that Cube's shingle is circling a big-screen adaptation of the graphic novel 10, by Shannon Eric Denton and Keith Giffen. Gustin Nash and Jesse Cale have already adapted 10 for Dimension, and Cube would come onboard (most likely) as a producer and the film's star.

I'm already jazzed about this project, because the story has tons and tons of potential. How's this for a set up: Some guy receives a piece of junk mail informing him that he's in a competition with nine other people, and the last person left alive wins. At first he thinks it's bogus (my neurotic ass would be at the police precinct in 10 seconds), but when some dude with an ax shows up at his door, the game is officially on. I haven't read the graphic novel, although part of me wants to pick that sucker up, like, today. Writer Gustin Nash was also the guy hired to adapt one of my favorite books of all time -- Youth in Revolt. And if he can make that book work on the big screen (trust me, if you've read it, you'll know that's no small task), then I have very good feelings about 10. What about you?