Ben Kingsley Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Part of me is really itching to see the upcoming film, Transsiberian, which I blogged about all the way back in December of 2006, while the other part of me is trying to prepare myself for disappointment. You hear about a murder mystery -- one that involves traveling couples on a train, whose trip becomes a murderous adventure with a foreign man hot on their trails -- there's one thing that should come to mind.

If it doesn't, you need to brush up on both your classic murder mystery reading and Agatha Christie* films. This project just screams Agatha Christie and Murder on the Orient Express, although I imagine that Ben Kingsley's Russian police officer won't be as quirky as Hercule Poirot.

The film has wrapped, and Variety reports that First Look Studios has picked it up, with plans to release it late this summer. (Finally!) To recap -- the movie is about an American couple played by Emily Mortimer and Woody Harrelson who find themselves "in a chase of deception and murder on the Siberian train journey from China to Moscow." Kate Mara and Eduardo Noriega co-star as a younger couple on the train, and as I noted above, Kingsley is an officer hot on their trail. In the meantime, you can check out an early review for the film here.

*And I should make sure I'm not confusing Orient with Appointment with Death when I write that! Thanks, Saavik.

Like most people, I'll go see a Martin Scorsese movie no matter what they call it. Empire reports (via The Boston Herald) that Scorsese's latest, Shutter Island, will now be known as Ashecliffe -- and while I wasn't all that attached to the first title, it's not like this one is a vast improvement. The film is based on Dennis Lehane's novel about an investigation at an asylum for the criminally insane. The new title is taken from the name of the mental institution.

DiCaprio stars as Teddy Daniels, a US Marshall sent to investigate the disappearance of a multiple murderer on the remote and fictional location of Shutter Island. Michelle Williams also stars as Dolores Chanal, the wife of DiCaprio's character who is communing with him from beyond the grave (it sounds weird, I know, but the book was pretty 'Gothic' to begin with). Williams has recently halted production on her latest film Blue Valentine due to Heath Ledger's sudden and tragic death. However, there was no mention of whether she is still planning on staying on for Ashecliffe.

Shutter ... I mean Ashcliffe, also stars Mark Ruffalo as DiCaprio's partner, Ben Kingsley, and Patricia Clarkson. Clarkson has always had the uncanny knack of portraying either the kindest or most hateful person you have ever met, so my money is on her portraying the murderess, Rachel Solando. Production is set to begin this March, and Scorsese has already been scouting locations in Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut as the stand in for the island. Ashecliffe is scheduled for release in 2009.

Bloggers are up in arms that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Sundance buzz title The Wackness. The film has been pursued since its debut on the opening weekend of the festival. Among other things, The Wackness gained notoriety as "the one where Ben Kingsley kisses Mary-Kate Olsen," as well as "the one our own Scott Weinberg didn't like as much as everyone else did."

indieWIRE posted a news item on Saturday evening that Sony Classics was in the process of closing a deal for North American rights to the film. Anne Thompson at Variety confirmed that the deal closed, and also pointed to three sites that had issues with Sony Classics: Neil Miller (Film School Rejects), Peter Sciretta (Slashfilm) and Alex Billington (First Showing). Other writers have also weighed in: Edward Douglas (ComingSoon.net) and Josh Tyler (Cinema Blend). The complaint is that Sony Classics has had a poor track record over the past couple of years and someone like Fox Searchlight would do a better job with marketing a film that critics think needs to be seen.

Sony Classics has long followed the traditional, platform method of releasing arthouse films, a strategy that has paid off big time in the past and that tends to minimize losses if a particular title doesn't catch on. It can be frustrating if you don't live in New York or Los Angeles (it took Persepolis seven weeks before it reached my area). Fox Searchlight also platforms, but is usually quicker to take a release wide. They also seem more willing to spend more money on TV and Internet advertising. Juno is a huge success, but that's a once-a-year (if you're lucky) phenomenon. We'll see how Sony Classics does with The Wackness.

The casting news just keeps piling up for Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese's upcoming adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel. (Films of Lehane's books have a pretty damn good track record -- see Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone.) Scott told you that Scorsese will be teaming (yet again) with Leonardo DiCaprio, who will play the lead role of U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels. I told you that Mark Ruffalo signed on to play DiCaprio's partner, U.S. Marshall Chuck Aule. Christopher told you that Ben Kingsley is on board as Dr. Cawley, "the chief physician at a Massachusetts hospital for the criminally insane." And now I shall tell you that Michelle Williams is playing DiCaprio's wife in the film.

Variety reports that the drama "revolves around the trip made by Daniels to a remote New England island in 1954 to figure out how a multiple murderess escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane. He is grieving over the recent death of his wife, who was killed in a fire by one of the inhabitants of the facility." I'm about a hundred pages into Shutter Island, and have not yet been made aware of this wife/patient connection, but I do wonder how large a role Williams will have in the film. The only involvement her character has had in the novel so far has been brief flashbacks. I realize I'm setting myself up for meanie readers to spoil the book's secrets in the comments, but please don't! I'm just speculating. Regardless, I'm loving the novel and can't wait for the film...

He's always a great actor, but Ben Kingsley has a habit lately of working with undeserving directors (e.g. Uwe Boll) and appearing in undeserving movies (e.g. A Sound of Thunder). Give him a great director (Spielberg, Glazer) or even a good one (Attenborough, Levinson) and he shines. So, it's an enormous treat to learn he's finally working with Martin Scorsese, appearing in the newly Oscar-winning director's next film, Shutter Island. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kingsley (or Sir Ben, as he's typically referred to on set) will play Dr. Cawley, the chief physician at a Massachusetts hospital for the criminally insane who must play host to two U.S. marshals played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone), the plot follows the marshals as they investigate the disappearance of a mental patient/inmate. While on the case, they experience a hurricane, get stuck on the eponymous island thanks to a riot and of course, "encounter a web of deceit."

Best known for being the fourth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio, Shutter Island will also hopefully be known as the movie in which Sir Ben has a Massachusetts accent. As a cranky "enigmatic" doctor, though, he could be from anywhere (and with Kingsley, I truly mean that literally). Actually, this could be a rare Lehane adaptation where none of the main characters have that Boston-area intonation. Regardless, it should be entertaining to watch Kingsley as a slightly villainous physician who performs illegal brain surgery. Picture a cross between Don Logan, his character from Sexy Beast, Cosmo, his character from Sneakers, and Xavier Fitch, from Species. I would add in his loony psychiatrist character from the upcoming The Wackness, but I've only seen one scene and you likely aren't familiar with any of it. Of course, under the masterful direction of Scorsese, Kingsley will probably give us something fresh, like no character of his we've encountered before. I see a fifth Oscar nomination on the horizon.

So you're Sir Ben Kingsley. You've been knighted. You've won an Oscar. You're a pretty big deal actor who recently married a relatively-unknown, younger, attractive actress like the ol' devil you are. So you decide to go out on a night on the town with your wife. Of course, being any sort of notable actor or celebrity, you get stopped by the paparazzi. What do you imagine they'll ask you? Something about your work? Something about your new wife? How about super-important current events?

The other night, TMZ caught up with Kingsley and asked him to comment on Britney Spears. (Because you're dying to know, right? And he's certainly the one to go to with such a question.) After the disbelief: "Britney?" He is thoughtful, telling the camera that everyone deserves to be happy. Then, he decides to make this whole encounter a little more interesting. He follows with: "She's my role model, really. An inspiration, should I say?" He then goes on about his own "morning mantra," which consists of him saying: "Give me, give me, give me, give me..." Before leaving, he says: "It starts my day, and my day gets better and better!" Classy! I'm usually not a big fan of the random questions, but if only all actors could come up with something on the spot like Kingsley did, they'd be a heck of a lot more fun, which would give these things some sort of point. Maybe this cleverness is why he always attracts those young, model-looking women.

But I should tie this a little more into film and less gossip. So, here's my proposal: someone needs to put together a new movie -- it will star Spears and Kingsley together. He's the experienced pro, she's the young, flighty mess. Heck, they could make it a reality film, where she had to follow the word of Sir Ben and turn her life around. I know that I would go see it. There would be the humor of Kingsley to keep things clever, and the struggling Spears to titillate those who love nothing more than to watch a celebrity crash and burn. And maybe throw in that crying Spears fan for good measure.

For those who were confused, irritated or just plain disappointed with the ridiculous Yahoo Serious comedy Young Einstein, you'll be happy to know that everyone's favorite physicist is getting a legitimate early-years biopic soon. According to Variety, Lionsgate has purchased the worldwide life rights to Albert Einstein, which kinda sounds like they now own the guy and could make a clone army (that probably wouldn't be so bad). Lionsgate has also bought the rights to Walter Isaacson's book Einstein: His Life and Universe, which was the first biography to dip into the genius' private archives. Isaacson will also serve as a consultant on the film, which also gained access to Einstein's correspondence and papers, which are currently owned by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The story will focus on Einstein's life from about 20 to 40, at which age he won the Nobel Prize in Physics. The film will apparently show the man as a rebel who challenged existing scientific theories but will also deal with personal and romantic plots.

All I can say is, it's about time. But this is me, a total geek who wears Einstein t-shirts. Of course, this is also me, the guy who is really bad at science and has never really read much on Einstein's actual work. I'm mostly interested in his personality, which is why I'm excited to see him get a decent biopic. As far as I can tell or remember, there hasn't ever been a good Einstein movie -- even if you have a guilty spot for Yahoo Serious, his movie was by no means about the real genius. Aside from Serious, we've seen Walter Matthau play the guy in I.Q. and Michael Emil sorta play him in Insignificance. According to the IMDb, there are at least three Einstein biopics in the works, one of which is probably Lionsgate's. One of them is about the friendship between Einstein and Paul Robeson, played by (last we heard) Ben Kingsley and Danny Glover, respectively, and another is being directed by Liliana Cavani with Vincenzo Amato (The Golden Door) playing the lead (I guess Giovanni Ribisi jumped the gun when he said he was cast in that film). There's also a British TV-movie in the works with Andy Serkis as Einstein.

Mike Myers' The Love Guru isn't the only film Ben Kingsley is cooking up, but this time around, it's a little more serious. Just a smidge. Reuters has reported that the actor talked with the Times of India about his new movie, and how he will star as the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. Little was said about the project, such as its name or director, but he does have his co-star -- Aishwarya Rai. The Bollywood actress, who is a former Miss World and the star of The Mistress of Spices, will play the Shah's wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Kingsley said: "I had spoken to Aishwarya last year while we were working on The Last Legion, and she very generously agreed to do the movie with me."

It's a pretty sad story. The emperor's third wife, Mumtaz, died during childbirth. Granted, it was their 14th child (no, that isn't a typo), so there's only so much one body can take. Soon after the loss, the Taj Mahal started construction, and it was completed in 1648. Some years after its completion, he fell ill. His son, Aurangzeb led a deathly rebellion, imprisoned him, and it's said that he spent the rest of his life looking at the Taj from his cell. Now we'll have to wait and see if his stint as this Indian figure can rival his work on Gandhi,* which nabbed 8 Oscars.

*Thanks for the catch, scudie!

When you look at the resume of noted actor Ben Kingsley, you notice that for every good role he has done, there is something a little less "dignified" right beside it (even earning him a spot on Jeffrey's list of the Seven Most Overrated Actors). Luckily, it doesn't look like his latest role will fall into that latter category. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Kingsley has signed on to play William Shakespeare in the literary adaptation, Will. The film is based on the novel by Christopher Rush, and is a fictional account of the playwright on his deathbed as he prepares his final will and testament. The book was only just released, but managed to garner a six-figure deal between the publisher and SBK Pictures (Kingsley's own production company) for the film rights. The book is part biography and part fiction, and Kingsley was quoted as saying, "Christopher wrote the most amazing, literate and entertaining novel I've read in years, and I'm both honored and excited to be part of bringing 'Will' to life".

If you are not a fan of the bard, Kingsley still has his share of projects lined up for the coming year. He has just wrapped production on The Wackness with Mary Kate Olsen (which has the dubious distinction of featuring an on-screen kiss between the two). Then it's off to the Hitchcock-inspired mystery Number 13 with Ewan McGregor and Dan Fogler (Fanboys) as Alfred Hitchcock and The Love Guru with Mike Myers. Last but not least, it has been announced that Kingsley will be joining the the Coen's comedy caper Gambit, with Colin Firth. Will is expected to begin shooting in the UK sometime next year.

What's up with Sir Ben Kingsley as of late? First, he co-stars opposite Mary-Kate Olsen in The Wackiness, and now he's teaching Mike Myers how to wear a chastity belt in The Love Guru. Obviously, the man who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ghandi is looking to delve into some more commercial comedic fare, and The Hollywood Reporter tells us the actor has officially signed on to the Myers comedy as "Guru Tugginmypudha, the ashram leader who teaches the title character (Myers) how to love himself and wear a chastity belt." Nice. Meagan Good and John Oliver have also joined the cast, which already includes Myers, his Shrek the Third buddy Justin Timberlake, Jessica Alba, Verne "Mini Me" Troyer and Romany Malco (who I'm really digging on Weeds).

I've been itching to see Myers take on another bizarre character that wasn't either an animated green ogre or Austin Powers, and from what I've heard his love guru shtick is pretty hilarious. Should the film be a hit, look for Myers to be well on his way toward another popular franchise. There aren't many people left who are funny enough to carry an entire movie dressed up as some lunatic, and with the exception of Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat, it appears as if those SNL skit-type flicks are fading fast. Can Myers revive them? In The Love Guru, he plays an American raised in India by gurus who returns to his homeland in an attempts to help those in need. Alba's character, who plays the manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs (if you can believe that) hires The Love Guru to help one of her players (Malco) when his girlfriend (Good) ditches him for a rival hockey player (Timberlake). And if that doesn't sound absurd enough, Troyer will be playing the Leaf's coach. Fantabulous! The film begins shooting this Friday in Toronto, and is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 20.