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Posts with tag Emily Blunt

Elton John, James McAvoy, Emily Blunt & Star-Crossed Gnome Lovers

Filed under: Animation », Classics », Music & Musicals », Casting »

Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? First you become Tromeo, and now -- Gnomeo. Well, people have been trying to rename you to Gnomeo for a while now. Heck, last time Cinematical wrote about the upcoming CGI feature Gnomeo and Juliet, it was 2006 and Kate Winslet and professional voice actor Greg Ellis were attached to voice the film. Almost two years later, the garden gnome romance is still hiking its way to the big screen, and The Hollywood Reporter posts that James McAvoy and Emily Blunt are in negotiations to voice the leads.

While I'm bummed to see another voice actor lose his work, there are some quirks to look forward to with this feature -- namely Elton John classics. At first, a whole new set of romantic songs were going to be penned by Tim Rice and John, but that didn't work out so we get the good ol' classics. Will Gnomeo fall off Juliet's balcony and sing: "I'm Still Standing"? Will the two dance, canoodle, and sing: "Tiny Dancer"? Will "Candle in the Wind" be adapted once again for the tragic finale? Oh, the possibilities.

Now, it's also said to be a "loose and edgy" adaptation, so perhaps these gnomes will get their happy ending -- although I'd hope it wouldn't stray too far from the original. Whatever the case, it'll be a long wait. The project is currently in the storyboard stage, with plans to wrap up production by 2010.

'Wolfman' Comic Con Footage!

Filed under: Drama », Mystery & Suspense », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »



I'm not sure how long this will remain up, so I'd clear out the room, grab some popcorn, poor a glass of blood -- or whatever the hell is it that you do to prepare for awesomeness -- and check out the video above right away. What you'll see is the much buzzed-about footage from The Wolfman that screened at Comic Con last week (read our panel coverage here). I was at this panel and absolutely loved what I saw of this flick; it looks creepy, chilly and Gothic. And when your cast spits out names like Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving (not to mention special makeup effects from a dude by the name of Rick Baker), then you know something special is in the works. Check out the gallery below for more kickass Wolfness.

The Wolfman is currently set to attack theaters on April 3, 2009.

Gallery: The Wolfman

SDCC 2008: 'The Wolfman'

Filed under: Horror », Fandom », Exhibition », Movie Marketing »



The Wolfman trailer was incredible. Gory, gothic, very old school. It was a bit evocative of From Hell, but in a good way, mostly due to the bloody scenes involving a mental asylum. There wasn't much dialogue, just lots of running, gutting, mist, and horrified looks. But we did get to see the actual scene from which the first photos of Benicio del Toro, bloodstained and shirt-shredded, came from. He apparently comes to right in front of his father, Anthony Hopkins, who says "You've done terrible things." Understatement of the 19th century. The final scene is of the incomparable Hugo Weaving. "God help us all."

The Q&A was pretty lackluster, if only because Hall H seemed mystified as to what to make of the appearance of such a panel. Interestingly, the director Joe Johnston was absent, but frankly, it seems like the movie was del Toro and Baker's show to run.

-- Rick Baker went to Universal for the job as soon as he heard there was a Wolfman remake in the works.
-- Not all that different from the original makeup technique, and of course he was delighted they had used old school make-up and not CGI. The transformation will be in CGI, though he's hoping they'll work in some physical makeup like An American Werewolf in London used.
-- Del Toro said putting on the make-up was exciting, taking it off was the worst as the fun was over, and everyone had gone home.
-- Baker says "the whole movie is a nod to the original."
-- Though nothing is official, based on the trailer the film looks to be a hard 'R'.
-- When asked what old Universal Wolfman movies had inspired him, del Toro said "For me, it was all those movies." Both he and Baker have been dressing up as the Wolfman since childhood.

Indie Deals: 'Gomorra' to IFC, 'Buck Howard' to Magnolia

Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Deals », Sundance », Cannes », IFC », Magnolia », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »

Time to play catch up with a couple of indie distribution deals that were completed during the past few days.

In the warm afterglow of Cannes, IFC Films acquired one more title to add to their stockpile, according to The Hollywood Reporter: Italian crime drama Gomorra. Directed by Matteo Garrone, the film is based on a best-selling book and follows five separate stories. "Set in the provinces around Naples," wrote our own James Rocchi, "Gomorra's a sweeping, stirring drama that has the shoot-and-loot tension of the best crime cinema but also has the scope and serious intent of great drama." Gomorra won the Grand Prix at Cannes, which is unofficially considered the "runner-up" prize. IFC plans a theatrical release and will also make it available day-and-date on its video-on-demand service; they are also seeking a cable TV deal of some sort.

Months after it debuted at Sundance, indieWIRE says that Sean McGinley's comedy-drama The Great Buck Howard has finally secured distribution from Magnolia Pictures. Cinematical's Scott Weinberg thought it "might be the most affectionate look back at old-school entertainment since Peter O'Toole boozed his way through My Favorite Year" and called it "a smoothly, strongly appealing comedy." Colin Hanks and Emily Blunt star as an ex-lawyer and a publicist, respectively, trying to help magician Malkovich make a comeback. Magnolia plans a fall theatrical release.

Sundance Buzz Title 'Sunshine Cleaning' Finally Picked Up By Overture

Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Deals », Sundance », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »

It's hard to believe it was just last month that the film industry was trudging through hill, dale and snow to watch movies at the Sundance Film Festival, but in this fast-paced world, it does feel like a million years ago. One of the buzz titles at the fest was Christine Jeffs' Sunshine Cleaning, a tale of two sisters that start a business tidying up crime scenes. Our own Kim Voynar felt it wasn't the best film she saw at Sundance, "but it certainly wasn't the worst. It does have its flaws, but overall it's a cute film that fans of [Amy] Adams and [Emily] Blunt will enjoy."

Indeed, with the very talented and attractive Adams (Junebug, Enchanted) and Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, The Wolf Man) in the lead roles and Alan Arkin providing support as their scheming father, how did this film fail to get picked up during Sundance? Anne Thompson of Variety notes that Sunshine Cleaning "entered the fest as one of several highly anticipated movies with stars attached that were expected to make a big sale. It didn't happen, though, partly because the filmmakers behind the film, Big Beach ... were hoping to make back their $7-million investment in a quick sale."

Ms. Thompson reports, however, that Overture Films has now acquired the film and plans to release it at the end of the year. The distributor may change the title, though, perhaps concerned that it might be considered too similar to 2006 indie smash hit Little Miss Sunshine, for which Arkin won an Academy Award.

Hugo Weaving Tracks Down 'The Wolfman'

Filed under: Classics », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Mystery & Suspense », Universal », Remakes and Sequels »

There are casting announcements that make you howl with despair (I'm looking at you, Wolverine) and there are ones that restore your faith in the magic of movies. This is one of those.

Variety has announced that Hugo Weaving will be bringing his deep and scary voice to Universal's upcoming remake of The Wolfman, and taking on the role of Detective Aberline. (Cue all the Matrix, "Evening, Mr. Talbot" jokes as Aberline hunts Talbot across the moors.)

Weaving rounds out an already impressive cast of Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, and Anthony Hopkins. I know for many, the thought of touching those classic monster movies is complete sacrilege, but if you are going to do a remake, it doesn't get any better than this. Hopefully, Mark Romanek's departure is the only calamity to befall this production and it make a painless transformation (ha ha) to the big screen.

The only flaw remaining is that February release date. I'm glad studios are now realizing people like to see good films in all the months of the year, but The Wolfman really ought to command an October or November release. The atmosphere is just ripe for some Gothic horror. And some of us don't want to see the 25th Saw installment.

'The Wolf Man' Gets a New Director

Filed under: Classics », Horror », Deals », Universal », Remakes and Sequels »

John Landis may or may not belong in "director jail," as Ryan Stewart wrote about yesterday, but he won't be directing the upcoming big-budget remake The Wolf Man. Instead, Variety is reporting that Joe Johnston has been signed by Universal Pictures to fill the director's chair recently vacated by Mark Romanek due to "creative differences."

Johnston's directorial career began nearly 20 years ago with the earnestly entertaining Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and The Rocketeer. He got bogged down with The Pagemaster and Jumanji before delivering the appealing drama October Sky, my fave of his films. He returned to big budget studio projects with Jurassic Park III and Hidalgo.

Is he the right director for The Wolf Man? Based on a script by Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven), the new film is set to star Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt. Reportedly, Romanek worked for about a year on the film, and del Toro has long been attached to star, but the two producers that Variety says were "integral in keeping the project on track" -- Scott Stuber and Mary Parent -- have a mixed record.

Emily Blunt is 'The Girl'

Filed under: Drama », Casting »

Emily Blunt has been all over the place in her short career, and recently has been reading lots of Jane Austen, and acting alongside greats like Tom Hanks and Alan Arkin. Now The Hollywood Reporter has announced that she is getting into some heavy drama with an upcoming feature called The Girl. HBO is currently circling the project that Gotham award winner David Riker wrote, and will direct --- one that probably won't head into production until the fall, after (hopefully) the writers strike is over.

Like Riker's La Ciudad, Girl is a story about immigration. It "focuses on a Texas woman (Blunt) who finds the daughter of an illegal immigrant who has become separated from her mother. Saddled with a child she doesn't wish to care for, the woman then searches for the child's mother, a quest that takes her south of the border." I guess that while she doesn't want to keep the child, she also doesn't want it to be handed over to the state. If that was the case, she could just go to New York City and get pneumonia. Still, I wonder how she just travels with a little Latin baby with no papers. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Sundance Review: Sunshine Cleaning

Filed under: Comedy », Independent », Sundance », Theatrical Reviews », Cinematical Indie »



It's not a bad idea for an indie film: Two sisters, still dealing as adults with the aftermath of their mother's suicide when they were children, are stuck in dead-end jobs. Then one of them gets the idea to stop cleaning rich people's houses for a living, and to start a business cleaning up crime scenes instead. That's the basic idea behind Christine Jeffs' Sunshine Cleaning, starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin.

Adams plays Rose, head cheerleader back in the glory days of high school, now stuck raising her son Oscar (Jason Spevack) alone. Rose cleans houses for a living, a job she's not crazy about, and she's having an affair with her high school boyfriend, Mac (Steve Zahn), who likes Rose enough to have sex on the side, but not enough to leave his wife for her. Her sister Norah (Blunt) lives with their father Joe (Arkin), who's always got a scheme going for finally getting rich. When Oscar keeps getting in trouble in school, Rose decides she needs to make more money so she can put him in private school, and cleaning houses for a living isn't going to get her there.

Sundance Review: The Great Buck Howard

Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Sundance », Theatrical Reviews »



One might not expect a sweet, funny and warm-hearted crowd-pleaser from the man who wrote movies like Sexual Roulette, Sonic Impact, and Venomous, but I guess filmmaker Sean McGinly has spent the last eleven years churning out schlock flicks just so he could get to something good. And I'm very pleased to report that his newest offering, a smoothly, strongly appealing comedy called The Great Buck Howard, is definitely the "big break" that McGinly's been working for. Backed by a fantastic performance by John Malkovich -- and some really fine work from young actors Colin Hanks and Emily Blunt -- The Great Buck Howard might be the most affectionate look back at old-school entertainment since Peter O'Toole boozed his way through My Favorite Year.

Hanks is a law student who despises law school, so (directly against his father's wishes) Troy Gable bails on higher education and lands a job as a road producer for a serious has-been of a magician. Formerly quite famous (he's been on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show over 60 times), Buck Howard is a relic of a more innocent time. Magician, mentalist, musician and comedian, Mr. Howard is "old-school entertainment" at its most sincere -- and sincerely forgotten. Troy and Buck strike up a professional friendship, although obviously their relationship is due for a few rocky moments.

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