A few weeks ago a DVD of Laurent Cantet's 2000 film Human Resources arrived on my doorstep. I hadn't seen it, but it rung a bell for me, and it took me a little while to remember: the Shooting Gallery series! I couldn't believe I had forgotten about it. It was a huge event in less-than-400-screen lore, successful as well as artistically daring. I poked around and discovered that this brave little distributor had -- of course -- gone out of business. In 2000 and 2001, the Shooting Gallery lined up three series of six movies each, releasing each one for a two-week period, usually on a specific movie screen in selected cities, and then replaced it with the next in the series. If something took off and became a hit, it could play longer. I didn't see all the films, but there were some amazing entries, and certainly some films that otherwise would never have seen the light of day.

The first series unfolded in the spring of 2000. The quirky, dreamy, black-and-white comedy Judy Berlin, starring a then up-and-coming Edie Falco ("The Sopranos"), came first. It didn't exactly break any box office records, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has a small following today. Next up came Peter Mullan's Orphans, which I didn't see, followed by Such a Long Journey, which was yet another story from India about an old-fashioned father balking at the ways of his modern children, but beautifully realized. (The great character actor Om Puri was on hand for a supporting role.) Southpaw was a snappy little boxing documentary about promising Irish fighter Francis Barrett. The sixth film, from Japan, was Adrenaline Drive, a kind of crime story crossed with a drawing room comedy. It seemed ripe for an American remake, which never came.

Like many of the characters he plays, Clive Owen was reserved, astute and insightful throughout his public appearance at the Apple store in downtown Manhattan on Friday. Interviewed by American Psycho director Mary Harron as a part of a series of conversations co-hosted by Apple and indieWIRE, taking place during the Tribeca Film Festival, Owen touched on two of his recent projects while fielding broad questions about his professional interests.

Although not currently starring in any theatrical releases, Owen was in town performing opposite Julia Roberts in the corporate spy thriller Duplicity, the sophomore feature from Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy (a special guest at the store the following night). "I read the script and thought it was brilliant," Owen said, adding that shooting was halfway done. "I'd met Tony already, and he screened Michael Clayton for me. Obviously, when I saw that, it was a no-brainer." Meanwhile, Owen has another thriller in his queue: He plays an Interpol agent fighting global arms dealing in The International, which finished shooting in New York last January and hits theaters next year. Directed by Run Lola Run visionary Tom Tykwer, The International has provided Owen with "as good a director as I've ever come across. He's incredibly on top of every aspect of filmmaking."

For many, Closer is that Mike Nichols movie where Natalie Portman played a stripper, stripped down, but then had her nude footage destroyed. For me, it's the film that gave me a new-found appreciation for Julia Roberts. Like many of you out there, I've grown tired over the years of the typical Roberts roles, but pitting her against Clive Owen and making her a mellow, wry, and serious photographer was excellent, and it dulled the memory of her monotonous previous work. Was it her own talents, or what Owen inspired within her that made this possible?

Now she's teaming up with Owen again for Duplicity, and I can only hope that they have the magic again. The film stars Roberts and Owen as two corporate spies who conspire to con their bosses, and Just Jared has a whole slew of pics of the two shooting an anger-filled scene. It's all suits, grabbed arms, and arguments for the pair on the streets of New York. So far, so good.

But even if Closer becomes a distant memory and this flick is just classic Julia, it's still looking damned good. It will be an absolute and serious waste if these two, mixed with Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton, and the increasingly impressive Tom Wilkinson can't create a great flick. Are you ready for their Duplicity?

When I first posted about the film back in November, I said that the upcoming Clive Owen and Julia Roberts-starring Duplicity filled me with curiosity and dread. The curiosity (and a little excitement, I must admit) came from the fact that it was re-teaming two stars from Closer -- a film I really enjoy. On the other hand, I hear "Duplicity," and I think of the similar-sounding Derailed. That makes me want to run for my life. (Famous last words said before watching the latter: It's got Owen. It can't be all bad.)

All that said, there's two more great actors joining the cast, which should start to erase those Derailed fears. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Tom Wilkinson and Billy Bob Thornton are looking into joining the cast. (Wilkinson is in negotiations, and THR doesn't say whether BB has officially signed on yet.) This will re-team Wilkinson with Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy, who also wrote the script, so I imagine he'll sign on the dotted line soon enough -- Tom's role in the film did nab him an Oscar nod for supporting actor, after all.

The thriller focuses on Roberts and Owen's characters, "who are longtime lovers and rival corporate spies who team to pull off an elaborate con." (Sounds like Mr. & Mrs. Smith meets Ocean's 11.) Wilkinson is set to play the CEO of a large company, while Thornton's role is said to be "a more maverick type of CEO." The film will shoot this spring in the Big Apple.

This is yet another slow week for DVD releases, but at least you can fill your violence quota for the week!

Shoot 'Em Up
This is certainly not an epic feat of cinema, nor is it a movie that will gain Oscar buzz. It is, plainly and wonderfully, a movie about lots and lots of shooting in improbable circumstances. Clive Owen's human Bugs Bunny can do it all -- he can slide across the room gunning people down, or even get the job down while having horizontal fun with Monica Bellucci. Delightful in that mindless action sort of way, Shoot 'Em Up follows Mr. Smith (Owen), a "gun-toting badass" who has to keep a newborn, orphaned baby safe. While trying to save the little tyke from the likes of the criminal mastermind (Paul Giamatti), he gets the help of prostitute (Bellucci) whose specialty is people with mommy fetishes. It's completely unbelievable, in that tasty, cinematic sort of way.

There's a decent amount of special features to make this sale even more worthwhile. You can check out a director/writer commentary, deleted/alternate scenes (with optional commentary), a making-of featurette with sub-options from cast interviews to special effects, and finally, an animated clip of the action scenes in the film.

Check out Jette Kernion's Review | Buy the DVD


Resident Evil: Extinction
If you prefer your action to have more of the undead and less of the soon-to-be dead, the third installment of Resident Evil, this week's other big release, might be more up your alley. This time around, Alice (Milla Jovovich) teams up with Oded Fehr and Mike Epps to bring down the Umbrella Corporation and stop a virus that will turn everyone into the undead. Helping her, along with peeps like Ali Larter, is all of the super-human strength and perks that the company had given her. Oh, and this is all happening in the dry and roasty Nevada desert.

This set has a few good nibbles for you -- director/producer/writer commentary, deleted scenes, a featurette covering everything from pre-production to the end of shooting, and a sneak peek at the CGI movie Resident Evil: Degeneration.

Check out Peter Martin's Review | Buy the DVD

Other New DVD Releases (January 1)

War
September Dawn

Check out Peter Martin's Indies on DVD for even more new releases.

We see guns and violence everywhere. It's on the television, on the big screen, in the papers, in the books. It's always referenced in discussions about sex -- a nipple here, or a butt-cheek there, sexiness almost always gets leashed while violence frolics with its comfy reign. But every once in a while, someone steps in to do something about it. Usually, it's due to the sensitivity of a recent violent act. (Columbine stopped lots of projects, September 11 kept movie ideas at bay for a while, and so on, and so forth.) This is no exception. Variety has reported that posters for Shoot 'Em Up are now under fire themselves.

The ads have been banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority, due to rising gun crime in the country. The ads in question -- the first shows Paul Giamatti chatting on a cell phone while pointing a gun, and is teamed with the text: "just another family man making a living." Nice. The second has Clive Owen leaping through the air with guns in his hands as Giamatti holds a sniper rifle. (I presume it's the one to the right.) It seems that the ASA got 55 complaints from the public that "the ads glamorized and glorified gun crime." Well, that's obvious. "Many complainants believed that the posters were offensive and insensitive toward families directly affected by gun crime, in particular the family of Rhys Jones, the 11-year-old who was killed in a shooting incident in Liverpool in August."

Now, I just wonder what they think of that racy clip that made its way online earlier this year...

About four years after filming the dysfunctional love fest otherwise known as Closer, Variety reports that Clive Owen and Julia Roberts are teaming up again for a new con flick called Duplicity. This fills me with both curiosity, and dread. I happened to love Closer, from Owen's creepy pervishness to Roberts actually being understated. Then again, the last one-word con film Clive did was Derailed. I put that sucker in my DVD player with the thought: "It's got Owen, so even if it's as crappy as I hear, it'll have something to enjoy." Oh yeah, not at all. It was downright scary with how bad it was.

So, now we've got the next attempt. The drama was written, and will be directed by Tony Gilroy, who seems to be getting better with age, like a fine wine. The guy has flicks like The Cutting Edge and Bait on his roster, as well as the three Bourne movies. But that's not all -- he's also the pen and director behind Michael Clayton. The drama will focus on Roberts and Owen as "longtime lovers who happened to work as spies on opposite sides. They team up to stage an elaborate con to rip off corporations and steal a valuable product." It's looking like a Mr. and Mrs. Smith without the assassinations and after the discovery of their work -- unless they know and find a thrill in bonking the enemy. Duplicity will start filming this March, after Owen wraps his stint as Tom Tykwer's The International.

Shoot 'Em Up may not have been a smash at the box office (at this point it might struggle to match the gross of Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot), but it provided us plenty of laughs with last week's Insert Caption contest. Still, while the film may be cartoonishly violent and slightly satirical, there's a strong social message at the heart of it: Guns don't kill people, Clive Owen does. Hundreds, thousands, maybe even cajillions of them. Congrats to our winners below, you've got a hat, t-shirt and shot glass (get it?) on the way.

1. "What happened next was completely logical." -- Jordan M.

2. "Look... I'm hungry and you're hungry, it is an unfortunate situation. But there is no reason we can't share these baby bottles." -- Tom O.

3. "You know, if it weren't for those colored baby bottles over there, this would totally be a cliche." -- Bob M.

See full image and all captions

This week we have a photo from another film with some stirring social commentary, Mr. Woodcock, which I believe was originally scheduled to release in 1993. Susan Sarandon flaunts her liberalism by playing a woman who marries a gym teacher (Billy Bob Thornton), much to the chagrin of her son Stifler (Seann William Scott). In the spirit of Fashion Week, writers of our three favorite captions will win various items from the limited edition Mr. Woodcock clothing line. Good luck!

UPDATE: WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Click Here

If there's still any doubt as to the lasting effect Brokeback Mountain has had on our collective image of the Western, look no further than the 69 captions we received for last week's 3:10 to Yuma contest. (Of course we also owe a great debt of gratitude to Jon Stewart for putting it all in historical context with that hilarious Oscars montage). Some moviegoers may be disappointed to hear that Russell Crowe and Christian Bale do not get... it... on... in Yuma, but I can tell you that they do seem to develop Jonah Hill-Michael Cera-style man-crushes on each other if that counts for anything. Congrats to our victors below, you win... his-and-hers Yuma t-shirts.

1. "Oh well, the 5:25 to Yuma it is." -- Kathi F.

2. "You're right. From way up here, your career does look much bigger than mine." -- Charles P.

3. "I TOLD you to get directions... now look where we are, EuroDisney." -- Josh S.

See full image and all captions

This week we move on to a movie that sounds like a Western, Shoot 'Em Up, but is actually far "manlier": An action film in which Clive Owen kills men with carrots, beds Monica Belluccci while simultaneously shooting a flurry of henchmen, and counts a newborn baby as his sidekick. That's -- how do you say? -- gangsta. Unfortunately we don't have any carrots to give away (we have a strict no-weapons policy here), but our three winners will get a Shoot 'Em Up t-shirt, hat and shot glass. Cheers.

UPDATE: WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Click Here

I cannot remember the last time I was so excited for an action flick as I am for Clive Owen's new gun-crazy movie Shoot 'Em Up, which relies on the premise: "Violence is one of the most fun things to watch." As you might remember from our previous coverage, Owen plays a guy who helps keep Monica Bellucci and her baby safe from the maniacal Paul Giamatti. As Owen describes it in the first trailer: "I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous." Now, the film's official website has got a new rated-R trailer for the movie, which you have to enter your name, birth date and zip code to check out. Don't we all hate that part?

It's worth it. Where the first spent a bunch of time on flashy introductions and transitions, this lets the over-the-top and wonderfully unbelievable action speak for itself. Since it's R, we also get to see the action when it hits the bedroom -- and I mean both sexually and with a shower of bullets. Remember that scene in Spider-Man 2 where Peter rolls on the floor with Mary Jane to keep her safe when the cafe is under attack? Imagine that, but with a naked Owen and almost-bare Bellucci upping the ante. This time around, you can also see the many Bugs Bunny references as Owen chews on carrots and gets called a bunny. You wouldn't think someone could make Bugs impressions and carrot-eating look tough, but Clive pulls it off. Luckily, the wait to see it is almost over -- the movie finally hits theaters on September 7.

If you're a DVD junkie like me, then you'll end up buying a new Special Platinum Holographic Limited Master Ultra Five Disc Edition of a DVD you already own, just to get some paltry extras, like interviews with the gaffer. I'll admit, it's a sickness, and once Blu-ray and HD-DVD were introduced, it got that much worse for me.

Likewise, if you're a hardcore DVDer, then you probably visit DVD news sites like The Digital Bits and DVD File for the latest news about anything DVD related, no more how trivial, and no matter how much Peter Jackson continues to hammer you over the head with new versions of The Lord of the Rings DVDs.

To that end, our first early morning early morning panel was the DVD Sneak Peeks for 2007. Bill Hunt and Todd Doogan from Bits introduced Charles de Lauzirika, who works on a lot of Ridley Scott's DVD releases ... he has the lucky distinction of working on the Blade Runner: The Final Cut DVD, Javier Soto, who works with Guillermo del Toro, and Robert Meyer Burnett, who directed Free Enterprise and is working on the DVD releases of Shoot 'Em Up and Valkyrie.

This summer has brought us a string of what are being called "threequels:" Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: Is This Movie Seriously Still Going On? One would expect those big special effect-laden movies to spawn franchises, but now a highly unlikely candidate may be headed for trilogy status -- Elizabeth. Director Shekhar Kapur tells Entertainment Weekly in this week's issue that he always envisioned the series as a threesome. Kapur and his Queen, Cate Blanchett, have already completed work on Part 2 -- Elizabeth: The Golden Age -- and it will be in theaters on October 12th. The new film (which Monika told you is already being blasted for its historical accuracy) will focus on the Queen and her adviser (played by Geoffrey Rush) during the time leading up to the Spanish Armada. Clive Owen will play Walter Raleigh, Samantha Morton plays Mary, Queen of Scots, and up-and-comer Abbie Cornish plays Elizabeth Throckmorton.

Blanchett apparently needed a bit of coaxing to return to her Oscar-nominated role for The Golden Age. Kapur says, "It's sometimes difficult for an actor when you're so appreciated for a part, you're just afraid that you may not find the same passion the second time. But as I assured Cate: I've never seen her do anything without passion." Will he have to twist her arm for the third chapter? Depends on if it happens. The Golden Age is being released by Working Title Films, and the studio won't greenlight a third installment until they find out how Age performs at the box office. "Talk to me in November," says Working Title co-chair Tim Bevan. The original Elizabeth grossed a very respectable $30 million, and was a critical smash, nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture (It won only one, for Best Makeup). Kapur feels confident he'll get his chance to bring his saga to a close. In fact, he's already hammering out the story. Says Kapur, "I want to make a film about the absolute loneliness of power. She (Elizabeth) was left with no one at the end. She outlasted everybody." Sounds pretty interesting, but if he really wants to make some cash, he should have Venom and The Sandman swing by 16th century England.

Back in 2000, Michael Douglas was making news for teaming with MGM to bring the story of famous art frauds John Myatt and John Drewe to the big screen. The production deal, however, was never closed. Years later, producers Jay Weston and Fred Levinson have picked up Genuine Fakes, and according to The Guardian, they've asked international baby saver Clive Owen to play Myatt and retired killer tomato fighter George Clooney to take on Drewe -- the role originally set for Douglas. The screenplay is almost finished for the project, and is being written by the British duo responsible for Flushed Away and Excess Baggage -- scribes Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.

The film is said to be a cross between a thriller and crime comedy, as Weston describes: "Ian and Dick have created the most amazing outline for the screenplay. The film will be set in London, and they have come up with something that is a thrilling combination of The Thomas Crown Affair and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." I'm thinking an Ocean's sort of story, with a little spin on the crime. If they do nab the pair, I imagine it will be a good, long while until we hear more about this project. While Owen has a few upcoming projects to complete, Clooney has a number of actor, producer and director projects on the go. That being said, I hope they find the time -- they'd make a great pair of funny fraud-committers.

As the story goes, Myatt was an artist who was advertising painting copying, and Drewe convinced him to recreate some more famous works by artists like Paul Klee, Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse. Then, Drewe made false records for the paintings, and they were then sold at auction. In 1998, the pair was convicted of fraud and sent to prison; however, while Myatt admitted his guilt and got out after a brief 4-month stay, Drewe maintains his innocence and served a 6-year sentence. The latter still claims he is the victim of a conspiracy, while Myatt has gone on to work with the producers on this film, as well as creating a living out of his fakes.

It is inevitable that if a film comes out that is based on real people, civilizations or events, historians will be there to cry foul when a filmmaker mucks it up. Many times I agree with them -- not so much because I think films should be perfect historical documents, but because a lot of changes are just rude liberties, complete and utter fallacies or really unnecessary. Is that the case with the new Queen Elizabeth movie -- The Golden Age? I'm not so sure. Historians aren't too happy with the sequel, claiming that the artistic license taken in the film is interfering with historical evidence. The movie shows the Queen (Cate Blanchett) longing for a relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). However, since she fears losing her crown, she pushes her confidant Elizabeth Throckmorton at him -- so she can live vicariously through the other woman.

Screenwriter William Nicholson says it's a "relationship by proxy," because she's "a sexual being who is in love with Raleigh and who wants intimacy. But she knows a full-blown relationship with Raleigh would be political dynamite." The truth behind the story is that Raleigh and Throckmorton were secretly married and imprisoned for the marriage. While some, like lecturer Anna Beer say: "There may be an emotional truth in these claims, but there is no physical or historical evidence to support them," that's a bit different than an all-out change in history. This could have possibly happened, or not, but either way, the scenario fits into the history of the real players. And really, it's tame license compared to other Tudor liberties out there.

Have any of you been watching that show based on good on Liz's dad, The Tudors? (Spoiler Alert for TV Fans) Don't pay any attention to this run-down, which says that it's pretty accurate aside from some physical attributes. Ignoring smaller points like age and looks, the show has had fun with the royal family's past. Just one of the liberties revolved around wiping the real Margaret Tudor from the historical map, changing her sister Mary's name to Margaret and then, killing her off for extra drama points. In reality, she had three children with Brandon and was most definitely around for Henry's annulment. Now that is taking dramatic license too far.

We often hear about well-known actors either going back to the stage, or embracing the stage later, after securing a solid acting career. Or, there's the movies that head to stage, the theater that heads to the movies and we can't forget -- those that get adaptations on top of redundant adaptations, like The Producers. In the last few days, however, it's all about the directors. In the last week, two news items have popped up that are seeing directors head to the stage -- and another play-to movie-to-play to boot!

First, Variety reported that Ethan Hawke is going to make his off-Broadway directorial debut with a Jonathan Marc Sherman play called Things We Want. It's a dark comedy about three brothers who have to deal with the suicides of both their parents. The production will be part of New Group's 2007-08 season, with previews commencing on October 7. Hawke's already gotten his hands into the acting and directing sides of cinema, and he also got a Tony nomination for his performance in The Coast of Utopia. I'm curious how he'll handle directing the stage. The Hottest State, his latest film, was interesting, but I couldn't really get into it. However, I have this sneaking suspicion that he could whip up some great theater.

More surprising than Hawke's stage forays, The New York Times has reported that Broadway is going to taste Stalag 17 once again. The big twist -- it will be directed by Spike Lee -- the guy who has never worked in theater and as the Times says, can't remember the last play he went to. Apparently, Michael Abbott -- who produced the original premiere years ago for the Lambs Club Off Broadway -- wrote Lee a letter asking him to do it. Lee threw it away, and Abbott wrote again, ultimately convincing him. The idea is to not revive the story, but make it new, and the director says: "I just don't want to do the old okey-doke thing, dust off some old piece and make a revival. If I'm going to make this venture, this debut to the stage, I have to try and come up with some things that are going to make it interesting for me." But luckily, this won't mean rappers. Instead, on source said Clive Owen was being considered. I don't know about you, but this is sounding like a pretty interesting slice of theater, and I'm pondering a trip to the Big Apple now...