AaronEckhart Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Love Happens isn't just an unfortunate title because of the obvious pun I'm biting my metaphorical tongue over (okay... sh*t happens! I said it!), but because it's boring and lazy, and that pretty much sums up the movie itself.

Aaron Eckhart is as bland as pudding as Burke Ryan, a psychologist who lost his wife in a tragic accident, and for some reason turned his grief into a cottage industry for other people in mourning. Even with an incredibly successful book and seminars across the country that teach people how to be "A-OK!" instead of, say, dealing with their grief Elisabeth Kübler-Ross-style, Burke is miserable. Small details that are meant to humanize him and illustrate the grief and anxiety that is inevitable after a life-changing loss feel small and clichéd. He always takes the stairs instead of the elevator. And those lemons he tells his readers to make into lemonade? He pours a little Grey Goose into his glass when no one else is around. One of the other characters even makes a point of mentioning what a teetotaler he is.

We'll probably never see a film that's entirely devoid of "that only happens in movies" cliches, but there are certain devices that get phased out over time, usually because audiences stop taking them seriously. For example, people in horror movies don't say "I'll be right back" anymore, not since the Scream series made fun of it -- or if they do say it, it's done ironically, with a wink to the audience. Like polio, the "I'll be right back" virus has virtually been eradicated.

Another cliche that I thought had run its course is the Slow Clap. You know how it works: Someone gives a dramatic speech in front of a crowd. There are a few moments of silence. Then one person begins applauding, slowly at first, then picking up speed, and the rest of the audience gradually joins in, culminating in a tumultuous standing ovation. (A YouTube compilation of several such moments can be found after the jump.) Not Another Teen Movie mocked this cliche rather thoroughly back in 2001, vocalizing a thought that moviegoers had had in the back of their minds for a long time -- i.e., the Slow Clap is stupid -- and filmmakers have gradually been shamed into not using it anymore.

But now Love Happens is bringing it back, old school! The semi-romantic semi-drama, set to open Friday (unless this lawsuit prevents it), employs innumerable trite cliches over the course of its running time, but none so egregious as the Slow Clap.

Those of you planning a night out at the movies this weekend with Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart might want to do some extra finger crossing because there's a small chance love might not happen if two jaded screenwriters get their way. According to TMZ, screenwriters Greg Crowder and Tony Freitas are attempting to block the release of Universal's Love Happens this weekend because they feel the script for the film was stolen from them. That's right -- if Crowder and Freitas are to be believed, love already happened a few years ago when they handed the VP of Production for Universal a script called The Truth, which, we imagine, was a love story about love happening and then not happening, but thankfully happening again right before the end.

At the time Universal said the script needed a rewrite, but both writers wanted to be paid for said rewrite and that's when the deal fell apart. Then, earlier this year the duo submitted the script to another company, who then turned around and accused the writers of stealing the script from the upcoming Aniston/Eckhart vehicle. One imagines Greg and Tony then turned around, looked at each other and said something like, "Wait, did that just happen?"

So, now, these writers want to either block the release of Love Happens this weekend or receive a piece of its profits, which they hilariously estimate at more than $100 million. May as well demand the film's future Oscar while they're at it ...

Update: According to a studio source, Love Happens will still arrive in theaters this weekend as planned.

It may be a whopping two years since Nicole Kidman signed on, but now it looks like the big-screen adaptation of Rabbit Hole is kicking back into gear -- and believe it or not, she's still involved! No backing out for Kidman, at least, not yet. Production Weekly's Twitter feed reports that Aaron Eckhart will fall into the Hole with Kidman, and that John Cameron Mitchell will direct. Yes, that's Mr. Shortbus.

As Erik explained a few years ago, this is one heck of a tear-jerker project. Think Lovely Bones without the heavenly aspect. David Lindsay-Abaire's play focuses on a couple who lose their four-year-old child in a car accident and try to cope with the loss. Along the way, family members try to help them through their pain, which gets complicated when the driver who killed their son seeks them out to get closure.

It'll be great to see Eckhart put aside his irresistible charm for a bit and deal with some heavy, heart-wrenching pain -- Two-Face without the hideous disfigurement and law breaking. But this just ... I can't imagine how this will play out -- how Eckhart and Kidman will play off each other, and just what a tear-jerking film will look like under the hands of the Hedwig/Shortbus filmmaker. Can you?

Well, if you have to be embroiled in a destructive love triangle, being in one with Aaron Eckhart and Johnny Depp would definitely soften the blow ... sorry, I lost track of my thoughts there, I think I'll just take another moment to think it through -- there, all done. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Eckhart is in negotiations to star alongside Depp and Amber Heard in the feature film version of Hunter S. Thompson's The Rum Diary. THR also reported that Richard Jenkins has officially signed to star as Depp's boss, Lotterman.

Depp plays the hard-drinking journalist named Paul Kemp (Depp), who moves from New York to work for the small newspaper, The Daily News, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The story is set in the late 1950s, and revolves around a twisted love story, plenty of violence and treachery, and because this is a Hunter S. Thompson story after all, "violent, alcoholic, lust". Well, when I think lust, Eckhart and Depp usually come to the top of the list, so I'm sold. Eckhart (if and when he signs) is expected to play Sanderson, "a wealthy landowner who believes everything has a price and introduces Kemp to a different standard of living" -- and who better than Eckhart to play the Golden Boy gone bad?

What happens when you get a few of the stars from The Dark Knight on the red carpet at the Golden Globes? Well, you bombard them with sequel questions, of course. And even though Aaron Eckhart has previously said that the character of Harvey Dent/Two Face was (and we quote) "Dead as a door nail," the man has apparently had a change of heart (or should we say he's become a bit two-faced?). While speaking to MTV at the Globes last night, Eckhart had this to say about his character: "I think Harvey - if he's not dead - is in a serious coma ... and I'm not sure he's coming out. They might pull the plug on him."

Now MTV ran the video of this quote alongside the text, and Eckhart just laughs his way through the entire thing as if to say: "Ask me one more question about that freaking movie Horowitz and you're going down ... hard." On which villains he'd want in the next flick, Eckhart said he'd love to see Angelina Jolie play Catwoman and Johnny Depp play Riddler. And while it's quite obvious no one knows anything yet (there's not even a script!), remember that Nolan brought back Scarecrow for a brief scene in Dark Knight, and so Two Face may show up in the next sequel if it makes enough sense. Personally, I'd rather see different villains -- but that's me. What do you make of all this?

The Women Film Critics Circle have handed out their 2008 awards (with top honors -- Best Movie About Women -- going to Clint Eastwood's Changeling), and one of the more fascinating categories on their list is Most Offensive Male Characters. And ... who do the women film critics of 2008 find to be the most offensive male characters of the year? Aaron Eckhart (Towelhead), Sam Rockwell (Choke), Larry Bishop (Hell Ride), Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott (Role Models) and Jason Mewes (Zack and Miri Make a Porno). I'm actually surprised that Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) didn't make this list, what with his fairly obnoxious (but comedic) womanizing ways, and I'm sure there are several other offensive male characters spread across the films of 2008 that coulda shoulda been mentioned, but weren't.

This, however, brings up an interesting topic: Who were the most offensive movie characters of 2008? Could be male, female, talking animal (or robot) -- were there any characters that just rubbed you the wrong way? Any characters who deserved to be sent straight to human resources? Furthermore, were there any films in general that were so offensive, you either considered leaving halfway through or did, in fact, bolt out the door before the end credits rolled? Sound off below ...

You know, you would think that after starring in one of the biggest movies of all time, Aaron Eckhart might want to take a break from the world of big-budgeted action movies. Then again, he probably knows better than anyone that sometimes those small indie films can really get you into trouble. So, in the spirit of 'safe bets', The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Eckhart will star in the sci-fi action flick, Battle: Los Angeles.

Chris Bertolini's (The General's Daughter) script centers on an alien invasion that has landed in the streets of LA. Eckhart would play the leader of a platoon of Marines who are the last line of defense in the invasion. Jonathan Liebesman (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) has already signed to direct the film for Columbia Pictures, although a start date for the production has yet to be finalized.

Since his 'debut' in 1997's In the Company of Men, Eckhart has stuck to parts in smaller films like Thank you For Smoking, or like his latest with Jennifer Aniston, Traveling. Unfortunately, the big-budget flicks haven't worked out so well (with one whopper of an exception.) So even though some of Eckhart's other Hollywood projects have been less than impressive (cough, The Core, cough), Battle will be the first time Eckhart is playing front and center in an action flick. Lets just hope Battle doesn't fall into the same category as some of his other very expensive disasters.

Dark Knight Spoiler Warning ...

No more speculation, no more talk of ret-con and false funerals -- Harvey Dent is officially 100% dead. It comes straight from the mouth of Aaron Eckhart, who revealed his character's fate in no uncertain terms to ComingSoon.net "He is dead as a door nail. He ain't coming back baby!"

And lest you doubt that he knows the mind of Christopher Nolan, well, Eckhart asked him whether Two-Face would ever be coming back. "I asked Chris [Nolan] that question and he goes, "You're dead" before I could even get the question out of my mouth. 'Hey Chris, am I?' 'You're dead!' 'Alright, cool.'" There's no chance it will be rewritten or retconned, as he was never even contracted for a third film. "No, I'm not coming back. I think unfortunately, Heath [Ledger] was supposed to go on and that didn't work out. I'm nobody. I'm a cog. I have no say over this sort of stuff. I'm sure that there's so many other characters that they could whip together. I heard Angelina Jolie was going to be Catwoman or something like that. I thought that was a great idea. I'd like to be in that one."

Dent's death has now been confirmed via the novelization, the script, the actor, and the director. Though I would say that's as definitive as it gets, fanboys and girls across this great Internet refuse to accept it -- they just believe in Harvey Dent too much. But since we do live in a world where no comic character stays dead, where 299 Spartans can rise again, and Chev Chelios survives a fall from a helicopter, I guess you can hardly blame them.