BruceWillis Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Like most of the moviegoing world, we here at Cinematical are pretty excited for Kevin Smith's new comedy, A Couple of Dicks, particularly since Smith is promising it'll be the next Roadhouse. The world needs another Roadhouse, just like this generation needs a new buddy cop comedy.

We won't have too long to wait, as The Hollywood Reporter says that the film begins shooting on Monday in New York -- but before it goes before cameras, Smith has added Seann William Scott and Adam Brody to the cast. Scott will play a thief known as "The Sh*t Bandit" due to his trademark of leaving a scatological gift for his robbery victims. (Remember, Smith didn't write this script, Robb and Mark Cullen did. But now we know one reason he liked it!) Brody will play "an abrasive detective" who is less than thrilled to be working with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan's maverick cops. He seems so young to be the abrasive, badass type ... but hey, it's New York. You grow up fast there.

Still missing from the cast is one Mexican beauty, who Willis and Morgan rescue in the course of their adventure, and who holds the key to millions of laundered drug money. I bet we'll meet her next week, but you could throw out a few casting guesses or recommendations just to pass the time, as Dicks isn't due in theaters until February 26, 2010.

See, this is why I'll always dig Kevin Smith -- he just says it, whatever it is. He'll admit his failures, he'll open up about his relationships with studios, he'll remain real honest about his movies -- it's almost like you're good pal hit it big in Hollywood and, from time to time, relays some pretty hysterical stories about what it's like on the inside. Smith will be the first to admit the unsuccessful Zack and Miri Make a Porno left him a bit sour, frustrated and beaten up. And who can blame him -- you work your ass off on a movie, stick one of the most popular comedic actors in lead role and barely pony up a respectable box office take.

Good news, though, is that Smith still has some fight left in him. In a new interview with Vulture, he says he wants his new film, A Couple of Dicks (which he didn't write, but will direct) to be "the next TNT classic." He adds, "... the whole movie is like cops who are practically married but not actually, and, I mean, that's right up my alley. It's like Dante and Randall [from Clerks] as cops. That's why I was attracted to it in the first place. We all feel like we're trying to make a TNT classic - that movie that will just air ad nauseam forever once it hits TNT. I want it to be Road House. [My movies] all get cut to sh*t. I could never watch them [on TV]. Jersey Girl is the only one that doesn't get hit hard, but that one's tough to watch for a number of reasons. Television version or not."

Once he got a taste of Die Hard, Bruce Willis was a changed man, moving from detective comedy to action hero. 21 years later, at age 54, the guy is still not stopping. In fact, he's getting offers for action gigs left, right, and center. Is this the secret for staving off age? Well, that and a face that works well with a smoothly shaved noggin?

THR's Risky Biz Blog reports that Willis is currently in talks to head three action films, although not all of them are heading down that path to success. First, there's Inventory, a thriller from NuImage/Millenium that would have the actor become a detective hunting down a murderer. Then there's Red (not to be confused with last year's Red), based on the WildStorm/DC Comic. This would have Willis playing a former black-ops agent forced out of retirement when an assassin comes after him and his girlfriend. This gig, however, could fizzle because so far, the two sides can't agree on a suitable offer. And finally, there's Scarpa, a mob biopic in the works from Antoine Fuqua, where he'd play an undercover FBI informant in New York's Columbo family. But RBB says: "the odds are growing that WIllis won't do that pic" either.

Well, he can't do every cop/law film that comes his way, even if he is the irreplacable John McClane. I can see him stepping back a little. I mean, how will he find the time? It's not like he's been lying low since Live Free or Die Hard -- he's got projects like Surrogates and A Couple of Dicks on the way. Willis might be the quintessential man of policedom, but where do you like Willis best? Do you want to see him keep fighting his way through the baddies, or are you just waiting for the next mellow Sixth Sense?

If you like classic French movies like I like classic French movies -- and get a kick out of modern-day interpretations of same -- then check out the clips below. (Go ahead, I'll wait.) In their original incarnations, neither Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile nor John McTiernan's Die Hard: With a Vengeance scream out "50s!!! 60s!!!" or "France!!!," but, nonetheless, they're the type of clips, courtesy of Buzzfeed, that set the imagination soaring,

Fair warning: the fairly lengthy clips (almost four minutes each) are part of a viral campaign for Stella Artois beer. The marketing message is kept to a minimum. With 8 Kilometres, it's the idea of a rap battle taking place in a beatnik bar between two hepcats with a cool jazz band in the background, filmed in black and white. Instead of a heated war of words, it's more like a rather cordial exchange of philosophies. The lead actor is no Eminem, but who is?

Dial Hard moves the action to a colorful coastal city in 1963, with a perky tune playing in the background. Instead of Bruce Willis as McClane and Jeremy Irons as the evil bomber Simon, we get "Inspector Jean Meglain" playing a game of cat and mouse via telephone with "Simone." In this version, Inspector Meglain has a different set of priorities

After the jump: Dial Hard.

If nothing else I guess you can never say that Kevin Smith doesn't learn from his past. Just a couple of days after Erik brought us the news that Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan were rumored to be starring in Smith's action comedy, A Couple of Dicks, Variety has confirmed that Willis and Morgan are on board, but there's been a slight change. The film has now been given the much more 'billboard friendly' title of A Couple of Cops (doesn't exactly have the same ring to it, now does it?). I mean, we're all adults here, has it really gotten to the point where even a pun as vanilla as a variation on 'Private Dicks' is too much for audiences?

I would've thought after all of the MPAA's prudishness over Zack and Miri Make a Porno that Smith would surely be headed for another battle royale. Remember, last summer, there were fights over Zack and Miri posters, the title, and even the film itself. Heck, there was even trouble when it came out on DVD thanks to the family-minded folks at Wal-Mart. But I guess Smith (and Warner Bros., for that matter) isn't interested in another fight with theater owners or enraged special interest groups, and this time he's just going to go with the flow (or maybe this time he's just a little tired of tilting at windmills). But, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise if you consider the fact that he's making a lot of changes in his career lately. Not only is he directing someone else's script, but he's working with a major studio and his longstanding relationship with The Weinstein Co. seems to be a little on the rocks.

Before Zack and Miri Make a Porno hit movie theaters, I sat down for an extensive conversation/lunch with writer-director Kevin Smith where we talked all things, well, Kevin Smith. During that conversation (and the subsequent press junkets), Smith stated that he wanted his next film to be the kinda-sorta horror flick Red State, or a sci-fi comedy potentially starring Seth Rogen. Now, however, ERC is reporting that Warner Bros. has signed Smith to direct the comedy A Couple of Dicks (yup, he's leaving The Weinstein Co.!), starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. Additionally, ERC says that Warners has already given the film a January 29, 2010 release date.

But here's the most fascinating part of this whole thing: A Couple of Dicks was not written by Kevin Smith -- instead, it was written by Robb and Marc Cullen, and it was featured on the 2008 Blacklist (which is a not-so-secret list of the year's best unproduced screenplays in town). The brief synopsis listed goes as follows: "Two veteran LAPD detectives attempt to track down a stolen, mint-condition, 1952 baseball card." Originally, Robin Williams was set to star in the comedy back when the Cullen brothers were also directing, but he wound up suing the production company when they pulled out and told him they were no longer making the movie (read more at Variety).

So is the film back on now with Kevin Smith behind the camera? And will Smith rewrite the script to make it more of his own? We've sent a note to Kevin to see if this is all legit and will report back with his response.

While my television tastes may have had a great deal of range in the '80s (everything from Buck Rogers to Living Dolls), few have stuck with me like Moonlighting. Dave and Maddie had the sort of chemistry that many Hollywood pairs could only dream of. Top that with the quirky Agnes DiPesto and goofy Herbert Quentin Viola, and one hell of a great dip into Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and you had everything you could want in a detective show ... except a movie remake.

With the current addiction to revisiting '80s themes, it should come as no surprise that there is now talk of a Moonlighting movie (via Variety). However, unlike all of those reimaginings and stories for a new era, this project is being touted as a reunion. Oh, yes! It seems that creator Glenn Gordon Caron wants to reunite Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis for the series' 20th anniversary. Unfortunately, current reports say this will be a television movie, but maybe widespread interest could make it a big-screen feature? It would be perfect -- get a good story, do a good job making it, and you'll kill a lot of birds with one cinematic stone -- lovers of comedic thrillers, romance, and the original show, plus the baby boomers who are woefully left out of most Hollywood fare.

Right now, it's still a rumor, but it seems that both Bruce and Cybill are keen, and even shared "a couple of misty moments as they reminisced" recently. Here's to hoping that this is more than just a fleeting dream; I love, love, love this idea. It would be nice to see Hollywood not only pay tribute to ideas, but also the actors who made them a reality.

Would you go see a Moonlighting movie?

So Erik-with-a-k covered the coming comedies of 2009, Scott was all over the horror picks (though his inclusion of Race to Witch Mountain still boggles my mind), Eric-with-a-c nabbed the family-friendly fare, and Elisabeth went over the geek fodder that awaits. But while I respect their calendar years and made-up math alike, I've opted to divide my list of 2009's action and adventure flicks into four categories: Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About, Action Flicks I Couldn't Care Less About, Action Flicks That I Hope Surprise Me, and Those Which Fell In Between. Enjoy!

Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About: First and foremost -- Watchmen (March 6th). It's one hell of a graphic novel and looks to be one hell of an adaptation (with or without the Giant Blank), but the only problem is it may not hit theaters on time if 20th Century Fox has anything to say about it. Both Fox and Warner Brothers are fighting over who actually owns the rights, and if a judge favors Fox comes January 20th (when the court date is set), we're looking at a delayed release and a whole ton of angry fans. Then there's Public Enemies (July 1st), which has me sold on not the subject matter, but sheer pedigree: Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as '30s gangsters. (It doesn't hurt that the earliest word ranges from damn good to great.) On the skimpier side, I can only hope that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17th) streamlines its source material as the previous one had, and I can only hope that Crank 2: High Voltage (April 17th) lives up/down to the depravity of its predecessor. There's one last action movie that I couldn't care more about because, well, I've already seen a version of it. The international cut of Taken (January 30th, though reportedly opening with some R-dodging trims) is about as brisk and butt-kicking as one might hope out of a man-on-a-mission kidnapping thriller, and if you disagree, I'll send Liam Neeson to change your mind.

Gallery: Watchmen

(Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?" opened in limited release this weekend, so here's our Sundance review from last January.)

By: Scott Weinberg

If you're a ravenous movie nerd like me, then there's very little in Barry Levinson's "inside baseball" Hollywood movie What Just Happened? you don't know already. If, on the other hand, you don't know a whole lot about studio politics, the angst of test-market screenings, and the tricks that movie-makers (or, more specifically, movie-sellers) will pull just to get a festival screening and a huge opening weekend, then you'll most likely get a whole bunch of chuckles out of the flick. To those who know about this stuff all too well, the comedy should still make for an interesting enough diversion -- thanks mainly to a massive, colorful cast and a few solid jabs that hit Hollywood right in the kisser.

Based on producer Art Linson's book What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line, the film version tells the story of one very successful Hollywood producer, and the ways in which he juggles multiple professional crises, as well as some prickly domestic issues at the same time. Robert De Niro is our movie producer, doing his best "sly" comedic work since (probably) Wag the Dog. John Turturro is the archetypal agent: skittish, shifty, and packing a nasty ulcer. Stanley Tucci is the writer who needs our protagonist for professional reasons, but pursues his ex-wife (Robin Wright Penn) for other activities. Michael Wincott is the drug-infested director whose ultra-edgy film is being mangled by horrifying studio boss Catherine Keener.