Clark Gregg Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Two more have been added to the ever large Iron Man 2 roster, according to The Hollywood Reporter and with production all nice, quiet and secret save for Jon Favreau's Tweets, we can speculate endlessly on what their additions might mean.

The first is a no-brainer, as Clark Gregg is returning as Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. Having hammered out the acronym, he gets to come back and try to keep Tony on the straight, narrow, and heroic. I think that's nice. You could just have any old agent, but they're keeping Gregg.

The female addition is what's really interesting. Kate Mara has joined the cast in an unspecified role. I'm going to just throw out a random guess (based largely on her looks) that she's playing Bethany Cabe. I can't believe they'd throw another love interest or action chick into the mix, but Cabe helps to defend Tony against Whiplash and Justin Hammer. She also suits up in some old Iron Man armor alongside Rhodes' War Machine to battle the giant robot Ultimo. The groundwork is there, but it's an awful lot of action and romance for one film. Perhaps Cabe will simply show up as Stark Industries' Head of Security, ready to do her part later on? Maybe she's just a love interest for Hammer? We'll know soon enough.

But wow, three redheads in one Marvel film? I thought it was Wolverine who had that particular fetish. Go Tony!

Our Cinematical compatriots attending this year's Sundance Film Festival won't get their first look at Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer until later this evening at the earliest, but in the meantime, Trailer Addict has offered up our first look at what may or may not be the musical reminiscence of a fractured relationship between Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Tom and Zooey Deschanel's Summer.

It's a peculiar trailer for what I'm sure is a peculiar movie, but I like what (admittedly little) we're seeing and hope that we only get verification from Park City that this project is indeed something unique and charming, and not merely quirky, a four-letter film festival word if ever I've heard one.

Fox Searchlight had distribution of the film going into the fest, and they're already eyeing a limited roll-out starting in, yes, the summer -- on July 24th, to be exact. If they manage to turn this into the type of sleeper success that they crank out time and time again, let's hope that the film deserves it.

I was pretty skeptical that Clark Gregg would be able to bring Chuck Palahniuk's novel Choke to the big screen. Fox Searchlight has launched the red band trailer for the dark comedy (along with four new clips), and I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. The first trailer was released back in May, and for anyone who was worried the book's more 'colorful' moments wouldn't be included, I'm here to tell you the filthiness is present and accounted for -- and I couldn't be happier.

Along with the new trailer, there are also some additional clips with the added bonus of exotic dancers filling in the narration from the book -- bizarre, sure, but surprisingly entertaining. Now for the bad news: the site has one of those age-verification login pages that are pretty crappy at the best of the times, but luckily you can always count on You Tube.

Choke is the story of sex addict Victor Mancini (played by Sam Rockwell), a con-man with the unusual tactic of choking in restaurants to earn money to care for his dying mother (Anjelica Huston). It almost sounds sweet, doesn't it? Well, it's not, and if you know anything about the work of Chuck Palahniuk, then you already know how messed up the story gets -- and I truly mean that as a compliment.

Choke arrives in theaters on September 26, 2008.

The logjam may have been broken at Sundance. Just as I finished writing something about the slow selling conditions over the usually busy first weekend, Variety broke the news that Choke and Henry Poole is Here have both been sold.

Fox Searchlight acquired Choke in a deal valued at $5 million, for which the distributor receives "world rights, less several international territories," according to Variety. Erik Davis told us the film's world premiere on Monday night was a hot ticket and that it received shouts and cheers at the conclusion of the screening.

As a fan of the source material -- the novel comes from Fight Club author Chuck Palahnuik -- Erik said he had some issues with it. His review explains: "First-time director Clark Gregg (who also penned the script) decided to turn this adaptation into a straight-up laugher that really works ... some of the time." Erik was mighty impressed with Sam Rockwell's performance as a scheming sexual addict, though he wonders if "casual moviegoers and non-Palahniuk fanboys" will be care. Fox Searchlight now has five million reasons to make them care.

In the other big deal of the moment, Overture Films acquired US rights to comedy/drama Henry Poole is Here for about $3.5 million. Mark Pellington directed; he previously made Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies, and a whole bunch of music videos. Henry Poole stars Luke Wilson as a man who believes that he is dying, so he leaves his fiancee and family business to spend his final days alone -- but no one will leave him alone! To repeat an old joke, Overture Films now has three and a half million reasons to hope moviegoers will not, in fact, leave him alone.

After falling head over heels for Fight Club, I devoured everything I could get my hands on that had Chuck Palahniuk's name on it. At one point, I think I was even on the street team (although I have no memory of signing up for it), as I kept getting strange promotional items in the mail. So, hearing that Choke was going to be the next Palahniuk book to hit the big screen, I was stricken with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Hearing that Clark Gregg adapted, directed, and acted in the film helped my hopes, as did the images released from set.

Now, we finally have something substantial to check out, courtesy of Rope of Silicon. Go here, and you can see a Sundance Channel clip about Choke, which features Gregg discussing the film, some silent clips matched with his words, and then a bit with Victor Mancini at his sexual addiction meeting. The silent nibbles include some reenactment footage, restaurant footage, and Denny's masturbation, but it's the meeting clip that has me sold. It has that frank, black humor present in Fight Club, but a little less flashy, and a little more raw and funny.

In his interview, Gregg discusses staying up all night to read the book, and says he thought: "No one else is going to agree with me, but there's a movie here, and no one else is going to agree with me, but I'm the only person who should make this." Stay tuned for our Sundance review and see if Gregg is right. In the meantime, I'm going to keep hoping that Invisible Monsters is next.

Last month, Jessica Barnes threw up the first official still to come from the production of Choke -- the feature adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel. In case you're not a fan of all things Chuck, the film follows a dude called Victor Mancini. After a childhood where his troubled mother would steal him from foster families, Victor grows up into an honorable man -- one who makes a living as a historical reenactor and choking con man. Basically, he goes to restaurants, chokes on his food, and then preys on the kindness of those who "save" his life. Oh yeah, and he also frequents sexual addiction workshops.

Now, it's crunch time. Will the film be able to find the magic that Fight Club did, or was that adaptation a one-hit Palahniuk wonder? It was adapted by, directed by, and co-starring Clark Gregg (The Human Stain, or the Miranda's dirty Catholic on Sex and the City), so I'm expecting good things. The film is gearing up for its premiere at Sundance, and Collider has thrown up a whole slew of images. If these pictures are any indication, we should be in for a sweet, Choke-filled ride. Most of the images have Sam Rockwell in his period garb, and there's peeks at Kelly Macdonald, Brad William Henke, Gregg, and two great shots of Anjelica Huston, who plays Victor's crazy mom. There's one image of her with V as a kid, and another after she's hospitalized. Check out the images and then stay tuned for Cinematical's review from Sundance!

Well it may be dark and it may not be the most jaw-dropping image, but since this is the first official still from Chuck Palahniuk's Choke (one of my favorite books of all time), to me it's just as awesome as any photo of the Joker. Twitchfilm.net has posted the first still from Clark Gregg's (What Lies Beneath) big-screen version of Palahniuk's novel about sex-addiction, Alzheimer's, and a man who makes a living by pretending to choke in crowded restaurants. Sam Rockwell stars as Victor Mancini, the sex-addicted con man who is struggling to pay his mother's medical bills -- it almost sounds sweet if you leave out ... well, practically everything since usually when people think Palahniuk they definitely aren't thinking 'aww' (its usually more along the lines of; 'eww').

This seems to be my lucky day, since Erik just brought us the news that I Am Legend's Francis Lawrence is planning on bringing Palahniuk's novel Survivor to the screen as his next project. Like most of Palahniuk's novels, Choke is not going to be an easy sell to a lot of audiences. Let's just say that it takes a certain sense of humor to see comedy in lines like; "A good addiction takes the guesswork out of death. There is such a way as planning your getaway." Luckily, I think Rockwell and company just might be able to pull this one off. Gregg has long been a big fan of the book and has been pretty dedicated to making a feature film, combined with Rockwell's ability to play people just a little off center and I think it just might work. Choke will show at Sundance and is set for release in 2008.

Although this is news that we've known for quite some time now, the trades have finally gotten around to officially announcing Sam Rockwell's participation in Choke; the big-screen adaptation of one of my favorite Chuck Palahniuk books. The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Rockwell will star alongside Anjelica Huston, with Clark Gregg (What Lies Beneath) set to make his feature directorial debut off a script he also penned. Kelly Macdonald and Brad Henke are also set to star, while Contrafilm and ATO Pictures will produce. Production is set to begin this week in New Jersey.

Choke marks the second Palahniuk book to hit the big screen, following the ultra successful Fight Club from back in 1999. Even though the guy has a massive fanbase, his books don't exactly feature the type of material Hollywood normally craves. They're dark, disturbing, and include characters who usually suffer from some sort of warped addiction. For example, in Choke, not only is the main character (Rockwell) a sex addict, but he also plots a scheme to literally choke in restaurants in order to feed off the sympathy of those around him. It's his hope that, in turn, these people will give him money (after he complains to them about fictional bills) that he can then use to pay for his sick mother's care at a private mental hospital. It's a nutty book with nutty characters, and I can't wait to see Huston as the sick mother. Rockwell should also shine as Victor Mancini, a guy who's so dirty, disgusting and conniving that you can't help but love him. It's a tough book to adapt, but I also thought the same of Fight Club. Survivor is another favorite of mine, but plans to adapt that book were shelved after 9/11 (it opens with the main character on a plane that he hijacked). No word on a release date for Choke, but I imagine it will hit theaters (or film festivals) sometime next year.

Considering how popular Chuck Palahniuk's Tyler Durden was in Fight Club, it's no surprise that another of his notable antiheroes is making his way to the big screen. This time, it is Victor Mancini and Choke. Last August, Erik posted that Paul Bernbaum (Hollywoodland) was going to pen the script, but that was the last we heard. However, now we've got a whole mess of info straight from Palahniuk's official website, some of which refutes the earlier report. The webmaster, Dennis, posted a whole bunch of news that he says came straight from the writer himself. Personally, I'm still wishing that Invisible Monsters gets made (sans Jessica Biel), but instead Erik is getting his wish.

In an email message, Palahniuk reportedly said that production on Choke would start on May 18. Clark Gregg has been nabbed as the director -- he's the guy who wrote What Lies Beneath, and who appears regularly on TV's The New Adventures of Old Christine. (Although I can't rip out the image of his stint as a troubled, Catholic playwright.) The actor/writer apparently adapted the screenplay and has been on the project for years (Where did Bernbaum come from then?), which is probably why he's getting the chance to helm it. But that's not the only news. It seems that Sam Rockwell has been cast as the fake-choker Victor. As for who would play his mother, Palahniuk says that it's coming down to Glenn Close, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore. I would imagine this casting would depend on how much of the past and Victor's youth they plan to cover. Close is the right age for the present-day, but the other two could cover the foster kidnappings more realistically. Well, what do you think, Chuck fans? Can Gregg make something that can hold up against Fight Club? Can Rockwell pull off the choking scammer who haunts sex-addict support groups? Is this for real?!

[via Film Ick]