David Wenham Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As much as I love a good animated film, sometime I have to sigh and wonder what would be if the same cast was in a live action feature. This is one of those times.

Zack Snyder's Guardians of Ga'hoole has found its official cast, and it's a little different from earlier reports in January. Hugo Weaving and Ryan Kwanten are still in, Hugh Jackman is not, and there are a whole bunch of new folks. The Hollywood Reporter posts that the cast will be headlined by Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, David Wenham, and Weaving. (Mucho props to Elisabeth for guessing right on Wenham in April '08!) These guys will be joined by the likes of Aussie folks Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Jay Laga'aia, and Kwanten. PLUS -- three Brit actors with Miriam Margolyes, Helen Mirren, and Jim Sturgess. Unfortunately, there's no cast rundown of who will voice who, and with that many names, I'm not even going to try guessing. Check out IMDb for a few casting names, but I'm not so sure on their accuracy since they list Sturgess as Soren, and THR lists him last, rather than naming him as a headliner.

Holy crap! Is it terrible that this news makes me sad and wishes this cast wasn't wasted on owls? Many of these actors could offer so much visually, and oh, how I'd love to see them play off of each other -- especially Wenham, Weaving, and Mirren. At the very least, it's got me itching to watch the story of the young owl Soren and his enthrallment with stories of the winged warrior Guardians of Ga'Hoole. How 'bout you?

I know, I know -- "sequelized" isn't a word, but it's the most fitting label I can come up with. Ever since 300 hit theaters in March 2007, there has been talk of creating some kind of spin off. Would it be a prequel? Would it be a sequel? Would it be some demented fever dream invented by one Cinematical blogger on a late Colorado night?

Well, someone finally asked a 300 alumni other than poor Gerard Butler. IESB.net caught up with director Zack Snyder, who revealed that 300 would receive the sequel treatment. Snyder did the impossible, and actually spoke to Frank Miller about it, and learned he's writing a graphic novel that takes place between Thermopylae and the Battle of Plataea which is seen at the end of the film. There's a mere year in between waiting to be populated with new Spartan heroes (though David Wenham's lone survivor, Dilios, could return) by way of Miller's pen. Snyder promises to direct the adaptation when Miller finishes the book.

There's certainly historical material to draw from -- the time between Thermopylae and Plataea was marked by several battles -- the naval Battle of Artemisium, which occurred alongside Thermopylae, and the Battle of Salamis. Both were victories for the Greek states (although Artemisium could be argued to be a draw), but not without cost. Several Greek cities, including Athens, suffered severe Persian attacks.

But while the Greco-Persian Wars are ripe for many stories and movies, I don't see any of them fitting the hyper-stylized mold of the original graphic novel or the film. The insanity of it all worked because it had a legendary story and king to anchor it down, and shine through the blood-splatters and giant rhinos. Why water that down? As fond as I am of Snyder, Miller and violent boys in leather pants, I wish they would just let the Spartans lie.

It can be a challenge just to work with people you clash heads with, but imagine going back to work after a big lawsuit? Back in April of 2007, John Goodman started off the Pope Joan plague by backing out of the project and getting sued. Then there were those director kerfuffles, and then star Franka Potente had to back out because the film was taking too damned long to come together. But now at least one drama is righting itself.

Variety reports that the case between Goodman and Constantin films has been settled, and he is once again starring in the film as Pope Sergius. But that's not all. David Wenham has also signed on to the film and will play Gerold, "a kind knight who becomes Joan's greatest love" as she disguises herself as a man and takes the papal throne. Too bad he's not playing a creepy guy again. He was excellent as Eden Fletcher in The Proposition.

With the cast now in place, the film is finally schedule to begin production next month in Germany and Morocco.

If you're any sort of movie buff, chances are that you have seen David Wenham in something, even if you might not know his name. He was the black-bobbed Audrey in Moulin Rouge, Carl in Van Helsing and even more famously, the fighting Faramir in The Lord of the Rings. Now, the Australian actor has been grabbed to co-star with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in Baz Luhrmann's epic ranch drama, Australia.

Lately the film has been involved in a flurry of casting rumors, from Bryan Brown, who was last seen in Along Came Polly, to Jack Thompson, who played Cliegg Lars in Attack of the Clones. However, Australia has finally scored itself an antagonist. Wenham will play a station manager who is eager to grab the ranch, Faraway Downs, away from Nicole Kidman. Meanwhile, she teams up with a cattle driver (Hugh Jackman) to protect it. To up the drama even further, they also find themselves in the Japanese bombing of Darwin, because it all takes place right before World War II.

Considering Wenham's stint in Nick Cave's western, The Proposition, this is spot-on casting. In the film, he played Eden Fletcher, Captain Stanley's slimy boss, who is more concerned with grandoise displays of "justice" than actually finding the right perpetrators. Wenham plays Fletcher in a prissy, creepy manner that makes you want to wipe the slime off after each scene. He'll be a natural as the man hungry for ranching land in Australia.