ElijahWood Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: 9
Filed under: Action », Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Theatrical Reviews », Focus Features »
It's safe to say that every film starts out small, and that many of them then end up staying small for any number of reasons. Beyond that, only a lucky few make the leap to feature-length, and even then, it doesn't always turn out for the best. Saw was once a mere fraction of itself, a grimy and gritty little morality play unlikely to spawn a seriously successful franchise that just won't die. The minds behind Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow dedicated themselves for years to creating a low-budget trailer for the film, only to then be granted the chance to flesh out their pulpy serial throwback with millions more. Wouldn't you know it, District 9 just became the summer's least expected blockbuster to the tune of $100 million, and even that was born of a like-minded showcase reel.
And then there's Shane Acker, whose original short for 9 was a wordless little post-apocalyptic breath-taker that rightfully earned itself an Academy Award nomination in 2005. Once an expanded take garnered the support of a recognizable voice cast and producers like Tim Burton, his vision was well on its way to the big screen, and all things considered, it's a small wonder that this small wonder made it through the Hollywood machine with most (though not all) of its mystique intact...
SDCC: Burton, Bekmambetov and '9'
Filed under: Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Exhibition », ComicCon »
Friday afternoon Hall H attendees were treated to their second chance to speak to Tim Burton (following his appearance Thursday for Alice in Wonderland), and their first look at the new film 9. Directed by Shane Acker, the film is produced by Burton and Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov, both of whom offered a few insights about their own work as they showcased the results of the first-time filmmaker's adaptation of his own animated short film.
Among the details revealed during the 9 panel:
Cinematical Seven: Creepy Kids on Film
Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Universal », Warner Brothers », 20th Century Fox », Fox Searchlight », Dreamworks », Cinematical Seven », Remakes and Sequels »
Okay, so I've never been much for the company of kids. which may make me extra-susceptible when it comes to the evil deeds and manipulations of a perfectly precious child on-screen. It's an easy button to push, though -- after all, who would ever suspect, let alone harm a vengeful little moppet?
None of that appeal escapes tomorrow's release, Orphan, and it certainly isn't the first time that horror and horseplay have mixed on film. While I'm tempted to include that little girl from [REC] (and also Quarantine, I suppose) for giving me the willies, I won't because she wasn't the chief antagonist, and the only reason I'm leaving Children of the Corn off the list is, well, I haven't actually seen that yet. And although it doesn't hit Stateside shelves until this October, keep an eye out for the very tense import, The Children.
But worry not: even with the exceptions, there's certainly no shortage of other brats to choose from.
Brody, Whitaker, Wood, and Gigandet Sign on for 'The Experiment'
Filed under: Drama », Thrillers », Casting », Scripts »
Here we go again! The latest film to get put through the remake ringer: Das Experiment. But at least this incarnation is getting a pretty interesting cast. Variety reports that Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Elijah Wood, and Cam Gigandet will star in The Experiment, Paul Scheuring's (Prison Break) take on the German psychological thriller.For the uninitiated, Experiment focuses on a collection of ordinary guys who sign up for a research study. They must become a group of guards and prisoners to see what affects power and control can have on a man. Of course, those affects will be bad. Brody will be the de facto head of the prisoners, while Whitaker will play the guard who becomes corrupt with power. One can assume that the other two will fall in line on one of the two sides, although their roles aren't being shared at this time.
Man, I wonder if they'll get any pointers from Rider Strong? The Boy Meets World kid got all sick with power on Veronica Mars when Logan had to partake in this very experiment for class. But seriously -- with Brody and Whitaker at the front, this could be one sweetly dark flick. As for the Scheuring side, Prison Break never appealed to me so you wonderful readers will have to weigh in on that end. Filming begins in Iowa next month, so are you ready to tap into your darker, power-hungry side?
'Operation Filmmaker' Airing on PBS Tonight!
Filed under: Documentary », Exhibition »
I almost called this a 'Watch This' post, and then a 'Fan Rant', but either way, the general idea is that I'd recommend all of you to tune in or at least record PBS tonight for the broadcast premiere of Nina Davenport's terrific documentary, Operation Filmmaker, in which a young Iraqi film student is invited to work on the set of Liev Schreiber's Everything is Illuminated and how that experience begins to unravel for all involved -- Davenport included (and that's not to mention appearances from Elijah Wood and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as themselves!).It's fascinating in the purest trainwreck sense, and deserves to be paired up with Overnight and shown to all fledgling filmmakers as a guide for what NOT to do when all manner of opportunities are offered to you in the field. Davenport's correlations to the Iraqi conflict as her subject becomes less and less cooperative are still shaky at best, but that doesn't stop this doc from making my Top Twenty of the year.
And nothing against Dear Zachary..., but I'm pretty sure that this doc won't have you in tears by the end. Check your local listings, though: some have said 10 PM EST, others 11 PM.
Another Boleyn Sister Pops Up in 'New York, I Love You' & Possible Continuation!?
Filed under: Romance », Casting », Images »
It seems that Scarlett Johansson wasn't the only one in the Big Apple, shooting for the upcoming anthology New York, I Love You, and I kind of like it. I'm sure it wasn't an "On your marks, get set, go!" sort of affair, but it's neat to think of different filmmakers across a city filming bits for the same film at the same time. Actually, I'd love to see a bunch of great filmmakers all run off to different parts of the same city, on the same day, and shoot their versions of it, but I digress.Just Jared has thrown up pictures of Natalie Portman filming scenes with a Hasidic jew for the film. In the shots, she was on the Brooklyn Bridge. All that's being said about her particular short is that she's playing a Jewish bride -- presumably of the cute fellow at her side.
There is, however, word on some of the other New York players -- aside from Kevin Bacon taking part in ScarJo's short, Elijah Wood and Nick Nolte are also involved. Could this mean that there will be two continuations from Paris, je t'aime? Both Wood and Nolte had bits in the first film, and that would be great, if a few players keep traveling around the world for these city love stories. Here's to hoping that they have the same parts.
The International Trailer for Elijah Wood's 'The Oxford Murders'
Filed under: Mystery & Suspense », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
So, in theory, the trailer for The Oxford Murders hit the web a few months ago; but unless you were fluent in Spanish, there was not a lot you were going to get out of it. Stale Popcorn has finally gotten their hands on the international trailer, and now we actually get a sense of what the hell is going on. The Oxford Murders is based on the novel of the same name by Argentinian author Guillermo Martínez. The book was published in 2003, and was a best-seller that went on to be published into over fifteen languages.The Oxford Murders stars John Hurt and Elijah Wood as a professor and a graduate student who become involved in solving a series of gruesome murders at the legendary university. Through the course of their investigations, they discover that the murderer is committing his crimes on principles of mathematical theories. So of course, the only way to stop the murders is to figure out the 'equations' before the killer strikes again. I guess you could consider it kind of like The Da Vinci Code, but with way more trigonometry.
Álex de la Iglesia wrote and directed the adaptation. The film has already been slated for release in Spain (where it opened on January 18th), Argentina, France, and Italy. Unfortunately, The Oxford Murders has yet to find a U.S distributor or release date in North America. Until then, Elijah Wood fans will just have to get their fix elsewhere. So keep your fingers crossed that the Iggy Pop movie gets made, or hold out for the possibility of just a little more Frodo after all.
Frodo is Definitely Iggy Pop!
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Casting », Deals »
Although the project has been stewing for the past few years, the Iggy Pop movie is definitely going ahead, and Elijah Wood is still attached to play the famous lanky musician. I keep looking at Pop's face and try to imagine Elijah's stretched to fit. I can't really see it, but I'm willing to stay optimistic. At the very least, Pop wasn't as gaunt back then, and was much smoother and Elijah-like (check out an old Stooges cover to the right). The biopic is still called The Passenger, and it will follow Iggy's early years with the Stooges -- meaning the late sixties and early seventies.Passenger was penned by Eric Schmid, and it will be directed by Nick Gomez -- the man behind the questionable Drowning Mona, who has been busy lately directing television shows all over the place from Veronica Mars to The Practice. I'm a bit surprised, because this seems like the perfect project for someone with a strong musical background. And if there is one thing we've got right now, it's a large bunch of talented musically-inclined directors. The Pop man himself was given a chance to be involved, but he said: "The script ain't chopped liver... It was a work of art. But subjectively, I don't want to be involved in any way." It is set to head into production some time this year with a meager $6-$8 million budget, for a release planned in 2008. I'm waiting to see if "I'll be shakin', I'll be tremblin', I'll be happy, I'll be weak -- and [if] I'll love" this flick. There might be some questionable aspects, but at least Pop thinks the script is art.
Review: Paris Je T'Aime
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », Shorts », Tech Stuff », New in Theaters »
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Having just come off the Tribeca film festival, I should be perfectly attuned to an experimental short film anthology like Paris Je T'Aime, (Paris, I Love You) and some segments of it are definitely enjoyable, but the overall hit-miss ratio is too low to ignore. This, despite a juggernaut talent bench that includes the Coen brothers, Wes Craven, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Alfonso Cuaron, Nick Nolte, Miranda Richardson, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Steve Buscemi, Gus Van Sant and Juliette Binoche. In fact, these are only a few of the notable performers and directors who contribute to the 18 shorts, only a few of which actually intersect with the others. My favorite of the lot is the one that the Times' Stephen Holden declared to be the worst: a snappy little love note to Parisian vampires titled Quartier de la Madeleine. Starring Olga Kurylenko as a classic vampire with opaque, milky eyes who is interrupted in the midst of her work by Elijah Wood, it's a beautifully photographed little love story with lots of blood that seems made of melted pink plastic.
Strangely enough, that's not the short directed by Craven (even though he makes a cameo in it -- how could he not?) Craven's entry is Pere-Lachaise, focusing on a visit to that famous cemetery -- where Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and Jim Morrison are buried -- by a squabbling couple played by Rufus Sewell and Emily Mortimer. Just when Sewell's character has run out of things to say, the ghost of Wilde actually shows up to give him some advice. Like many of the films, however, it feels like a 30-minute short that was cut down to about one-third of that time in order to squeeze it into this crowded phone-booth of a feature format. If you don't pay careful attention, you might actually miss Wilde's appearance and wonder what happened to wrap up the segment. Still, the acting drags it over the finish line. The same can be said for Quartier des Enfants Rouges, starring Gyllenhaal as an American actress shooting a costume drama in Paris and possibly falling for her Parisian dope dealer.
Elijah Wood Will Produce 'Black Wings Has My Angel'
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Deals », Noir », Scripts », Cinematical Indie »
At least someone out there is going for some lesser-known lit instead of helming the umpteenth adaptation or a remake of a musical, which was a movie, and will be a new movie again. Elijah Wood, along with Indalo Productions, is planning to make the move to production and produce a feature adaptation of Black Wings Has My Angel, Elliott Chaze's noir novel from 1953 -- which was out of print for 50 years. The classic is about an anti-hero ex-con who picks up a call girl at a Mississippi motel and then stages a daring armed robbery with her in Colorado.Apparently it took writer/producer/director Christopher Peditto 10 years to chase down and secure the adaptation rights, and he will team up with Barry Gifford to write the script. That's right! The writer of Wild at Heart. I kind of wish that David Lynch was helming the picture, since they've done great collaborations in the past -- beyond Wild, there's also Lynch's Hotel Room and Lost Highway. Unfortunately, Gifford's work since then -- Perdita Durango and his collaboration with Matt Dillon, City of Ghosts, haven't fared as well. However, maybe Peditto's sheer determination will help the film soar. The film is set to film this year, but sorry Wood fans, Elijah has no plans to star in the feature. Casting will begin shortly, so I'm sure we'll have starring news soon.
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