ANthony Minghella Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The first time I came across a trailer for the Diane Lane/Thomas Jane/Mickey Rourke hitman thriller Killshot (only remaining on an AICN archive page and the errant DVD release), it was back in September of 2006. Since then, the Elmore Leonard adaptation has endured reshoots in January of 2007 and countless changes in release dates after that. Of course, there's also at least three test screening reviews that bring to light the entire removal of a character played by Johnny Knoxville from the film.

Now, not long after the Weinstein Company issued its latest round of supposed scheduling, Killshot's most recent date -- November 7, 2008 -- has been dashed away by this Los Angeles Times piece, and as pointed out, how does one struggle to release anything that John Madden, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack and Quentin Tarantino all had hands in at some point? How does one struggle to even sell off domestic distribution rights to a film with this cast and that crew? The obvious answer is, of course, that the film is a downright dud, though the general pedigree and harshest reviews seem to suggest that it's not a total turkey.

The best-case scenario at this point is that the film rides the awards buzz of Rourke's performance in December's The Wrestler as suggested and gets a theatrical release in the early winter dumping grounds (through the Weinsteins' Third Rail arm, I'd bet), while the worst-case scenario is the film being directly downgraded to the level of a Blockbuster-exclusive curio. We shall see...

For me, it started with the deaths of comedic greats like Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason. Death had become real and tangible, making the world and showbusiness finite. Since then, the numbers have gradually increased. We're slowly walking into the period where memorials and tributes aren't relegated to actors before our time, but to the names and faces that shaped our views of entertainment -- the people who we have spent so much time with on the big screen, and within the comfort of our own homes.

But we're not just losing people to age. 2008 has been a heavy year for Hollywood, losing both rising stars and big names with long careers. Considering the fact that we just lost two more, I wanted to take a moment and look back at this year's shockers. Some of these men were young, some of these men were older, but all of them have left this earth too soon.

The cast and crew of New York, I Love You keeps growing and growing. There's not even enough room on the headline to list all the names that were just added. New York is a collection of short stories, part of a "Cities of Love" anthology that was begun by Paris, je ta'ime. New York will reportedly be followed by Shanghai, and then cities in South America and Africa.

The stories are showcasing an incredible variety of actors and directors. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are both making their directing debut, there's a good representation of international talent, and Brett Ratner hasn't been driven away by pitchforks and torches. Variety reported that Orlando Bloom, Olivia Thirlby, Hayden Christensen, and Ethan Hawke had climbed aboard the film. No word on who's segments they will appear in yet -- but a far better choice for Bloom's career than Prince of Persia, wouldn't you say?

Since I'm not the biggest fan of 'swords and shields' styled fantasy (i.e. The Chronicles of Narnia), you'll understand why I'm kind of relieved to discover that the new crop of young fantasy flicks are going to be just a little more 'steam punk.' The Hollywood Reporter announced that Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) has signed to direct the feature film version of the youth fantasy novel Larklight for Warner Bros. Kapur will be working with Eastern Promises scribe, Steven Knight to adapt the novel for the big screen.

Larklight is the first book in a series by Phillip Reeve with illustrations provided by David Wyatt. The story is set in an alternate Victorian-styled universe where since the time of Sir Isaac Newton, humanity has been relentlessly exploring the solar system. The protagonists are Arthur Mumby (called Art), his sister Myrtle and their father Edward. The three live in a rambling mansion called Larklight and in the first book of the series, the three get into a series of scrapes with giant spiders from outer space.

Just over a week ago, Anthony Minghella passed away suddenly at the age of 54. One of the unfinished projects that he left was his installment in the upcoming anthology New York, I Love You, which includes the talents of Scarlet Johansson, Natalie Portman, Woody Allen, Kevin Bacon, and more. While some of the segments have begun filming, Minghella had not gotten a chance to cast or shoot the segment he had written.

The Hollywood Reporter now posts that after confirming the move with Minghella's family, this honor will be handed to Shekhar Kapur, whose roster includes both Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. One week ago, Kapur had blogged about his last conversation with Minghella, and said: "On Sunday, two days before Anthony Minghella went in for an operation on a tumour they had just discovered, Anthony called me to see if I would direct a short he had written ... He told me his film was about the value of life, and how people sometimes just throw away their lives unable to look beyond into the real beauty of it."

In the past, both directors had long conversations about the nature of life, and Kapur says: "He recalled those conversations -- saying that it was those conversation too that lead him to believe that I should be the one to direct this short film." I like the idea of Minghella not only choosing a worthy director, but one who has similar thoughts about the project. With all that has happened, plus Anthony's talents as a screenwriter, this should make for a pretty powerful short.

Just the other day, I was writing about how Anthony Minghella and Richard Curtis' The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was heading to HBO, rather than the big screen. And today, I'm sad to report that the Oscar-winning director has passed away at the age of 54. The AP (via USA Today) has confirmed his passing through his agent, but no other details are currently available.

After starting in television back in the 1980s, Anthony Minghella made his big-screen debut with Truly Madly Deeply in 1990. It was his next writer/director effort, however, that brought him real fame. In 1996, he brought us the big-screen version of The English Patient, which brought him an Oscar win and a lot of notoriety. This achievement was followed by The Talented Mr. Ripley (another Oscar nod), Cold Mountain, and Breaking and Entering.

These days, he had been busy with the Botswanian detective story, plus a short for New York, I Love You, and The Ninth Life of Louis Drax. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Choa, and his children, Max Minghella and Hannah Minghella.

He will be deeply missed.

The idea of a Botswanian detective agency was enough to hook me when I wrote about the cinematic adaptation of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency just over a year ago when Anthony Minghella and Richard Curtis were putting it together. In June, we found out that Anika Noni Rose was joining Jill Scott in the production. Now it's veered off-course and will no longer be a big-screen movie.

As was hinted last June, the book is getting a television series, but Variety reports that it won't have a big-screen lead-in. Instead, it will be a 2-hour pilot for the new HBO series, which has already gotten an order for 13 episodes. Since this is also a Weinstein Company production, the sale to HBO marks the company's "first big splash on the smallscreen side."

Harvey seems to be happy about it: "It's always been a dream of mine to produce a series for HBO. I've often called over there to tell them that they make better episodes than we make movies." Heh, I won't dig into that can of worms. For now, the series is going into production with the hope to hit HBO early next year. From here on out, scour all those television sites like TVSquad for further Botswanian detective news.

The user-generated movie Faintheart begins shooting in the UK this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The first of its kind, Faintheart was put together via MySpace as the previously announced "MySpace Movie Mashup"; the writer, director, cast and other members of the production were apparently found via calls on the film's MySpace page. Some, such as writer David Lemon and director Vito Rocco, won competitions voted on by members of the networking site and a celeb jury, which included Sienna Miller and Anthony Minghella. Other positions, such as storyboard artist, could be acquired through job postings on the film's MySpace blog. The movie does feature some professional stars, though, including Jessica Hynes (you know her as Shaun of the Dead and Spaced's Jessica Stevenson -- she recently changed her stage name), Trainspotting's Ewan Bremner and Eddie Marsan, who will be making up for this by appearing in Mike Leigh's next film. Now the movie, a romantic comedy centered on the world of Viking battle re-enactments, which is being produced by Vertigo Films and FilmFour, with backing from the UK Film Council and Screen VM, is ready to go.

If we've learned anything from ideas like Project Greenlight and Spielberg's On the Lot, we can assume that the mainstream reception of Faintheart will not be too favorable. After all, the public likes its movies made by executives, businessmen, lucky "talents" and really talented people who have put in their time without success before breaking out. The same thing has been learned with the music business. Just because a person wins American Idol, that doesn't mean he or she is going to have a #1 album (nor does it mean he/she would make a good movie). Sure, the internet has possibly been helpful in suggesting things to filmmakers here and there, but overall, we can't trust people who live on the internet to make important decisions. Can we? There have been other internet-based film competitions, including two involving Spike Lee -- Babelgum's Online Film Festival and LiveMansion: The Movie (which seems to be competing with MySpace for the "first online-community-made" tag -- but obviously MySpace has them all beat with brand recognition. But then I wonder, will Faintheart even use a "MySpace Presents" banner? Regardless of the brand recognition, some people are sure to think such a connection is silly.

Variety is reporting that two of Hollywood's palest and chilliest stars are joining forces for The Reader. Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes will star in the romance, which is to be based on the international bestselling novel by German writer Bernhard Schlink. IMDb lists Anthony Minghella as director of the film, but it appears that information is inaccurate or has changed. Minghella will produce, along with Sydney Pollack and Scott Rudin. Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) is now set to direct the movie, and David Hare will write the script. The project is something of a reunion of the team that worked on 2002's The Hours. Daldry directed that film, Hare wrote it, Rudin produced it, and it won Kidman a Best Actress Oscar.

The Reader is set in contemporary Germany, where "a man recounts the story of his erotic awakening in a covert love affair with an older woman in the wake of World War II." I assume Fiennes is playing the man recounting his story and Kidman is playing the older woman here? That might be tricky to pull off, considering Kidman is five years younger than Fiennes. And "erotic awakening?" I thought that term wasn't used outside of Cinemax plot descriptions. I must admit, I have a real problem getting into a lot of these period romance films, they all just sort of run together for me. I'm glad Minghella isn't at the wheel, though. Just writing that guy's name makes my eyelids heavy. The Reader was an Oprah's Book Club selection, and with her massive following, the film adaptation should have a built-in audience. Have any of our readers read The Reader? And can you say that three times fast? And what did you think of the book?

I first saw Anika Noni Rose on Broadway in her Tony Award-winning role in Caroline, or Change. She was great, but nearly got blown off the stage (just about anyone would have) by the incredible Tonya Pinkins. Then she had a similar situation in Dreamgirls, barely getting a mention in most reviews. She had the least flashy role by far, but I thought she held her own against the bombastic Jennifer Hudson and the ridiculously good-looking Beyonce. And now she's joining another powerful singer -- Jill Scott -- for Anthony Minghella's The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Scott hasn't done much film acting, but has a part in the controversial Dakota Fanning film Hounddog, and a supporting role in Tyler Perry's upcoming Why Did I Get Married? No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency will be an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel of the same name. Any fans out there?

Rose will play Grace Makutsi, "the secretary/assistant detective to Precious Ramotswe (Scott), who owns a Botswana-based detective agency run by women." Relative newcomer Lucian Msamati will play Ramotswe's fiancé in the film. Minghella wrote the script with Richard Curtis (Love, Actually), and with Minghella at the helm, I think it is safe to assume that Detective Agency will be...long. Like, punishingly long. This also seems like quite a departure for Minghella, who usually takes on films about exceedingly pale people doing exceedingly cold things as slowly as possible. There's a whole series of Agency books, and it is "likely that a TV series based on Agency will follow the movie, but no deals are in place." Oh, and if you want to see Rose in something that will haunt her resume for decades -- check out From Justin to Kelly. Why that movie hasn't become this generation's Plan 9 From Outer Space is a mystery to me.