Emma Roberts Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Schumacher Grabs Eclectic Cast for Drug Drama
Filed under: Drama », Casting », Deals », Scripts »
We've already had The Wackness, which dealt with NYC and drug-dealing, but while that had some scary lip-on-lip action, it didn't have a murder twist -- not like this new drug drama. Variety reports that Joel Schumacher is directing Jordan Melamed's adaptation of Nick McDonell's novel Twelve. It's a book that's been compared to both Less Than Zero and Kids, and there's a pretty eclectic cast attached: Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, 50 Cent, Ellen Barkin, and Kiefer Sutherland.Written in 2002 by a then-17-year-old McDonell, the book follows a high school dropout and drug dealer whose life derails when his cousin is murdered on an East Harlem playground and his best friend is arrested for the crime. So we've got a gritty tale of drugs and affluence, murder, dysfunction, and it'll star a pretty boy from Gossip Girl, the girl who keeps a hotel for dogs, and her Lymelife co-star ... plus a rap star, a woman who started her career with Up in Smoke, and Mr. 24.
I imagine this will be the sort of project that pulls Crawford and Roberts firmly into a different cinematic world, or gently pushes them back to lighter fare. But what's more interesting is what Schumacher will do with this material. He's certainly not the first name that would pop up for this sort of project, but re-teaming with Flatliners and The Lost Boys Sutherland might just be the reinvigoration Schumacher needs. Maybe?
The film hits production soon and is slated for a winter 2010 release.
Review: Hotel for Dogs
Filed under: Theatrical Reviews », Family Films », Dreamworks »
I'm not really a dog person, myself. I prefer cats. I like cats that sleep a lot and purr and occasionally do something adorable, like trying to rip your arm off. However, I did like most of the dogs in Hotel for Dogs, especially the lead canine character, Friday the fluffy white mutt. For the most part, these dogs don't have human qualities forced upon them but are funny and sweet in a naturally canine fashion, and they run circles around the human characters in more than one way.
Friday is owned by two children, Andi (Emma Roberts) and Bruce (Jake T. Austin). The kids have been traveling from foster home to foster home since their parents died, and apparently foster parents are all mean cusses who don't allow pets, so they've been hiding poor Friday in the woods and backyards and alleys and such for three years. Friday nearly ends up in the hands of Animal Control, and as we well know from movies and TV, anyone associated with the pound is evil and sadistic. So the little dog ends up taking matters into his own, er, paws (I hate writing phrases like that) and finds his own family -- two strays who live in an abandoned hotel. One thing leads to another, and suddenly Andi and Bruce realize that there's plenty of room in this once-fancy hotel that no one seems to care about for a lot of dogs that no one else seems to care about, either.
Sundance Exclusive: 'Lymelife' Poster Premiere
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Sundance », Movie Marketing », Images », Posters »
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Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for the film Lymelife, which will enjoy its US Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, January 17th. Starring Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon, Emma Roberts, Kieran Culkin and Rory Culkin, Lymelife -- which first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to some pretty good buzz -- follows the trials and tribulations of a family from Long Island during the late 70's. Variety called it "violently funny" -- a "leaner and meaner American Beauty" that "gradually reveals itself as a film about the pressures and consequences of upward mobility and ordinary adolescence." Lymelife will also hit theaters in New York on April 8th and Los Angeles on April 17th before expanding to other cities. Click in the box below to view the full poster.
Gallery: Lymelife Movie Poster
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Universal Release Date Shuffle: 'Wolfman' Back, 'Furious' Up
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Horror », Romance », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Universal », RumorMonger », Distribution », Family Films », Remakes and Sequels »
I was originally going to start out this post by going off on those studios that habitually change dates on their releases and wait until the last minute to do so. Instead, I'll try to remain positive and emphasize one particular studio that has given us a head's up on the shuffling of their 2009 slate: Universal.Of utmost priority is director Joe Johnston and star Benicio del Toro's take on The Wolfman, which has been bumped back from this spring to next November (not unlike The Box). Usually, such shuffling might seem like a bad thing, but about six more months to polish what I'm guessing are so very many special effects sounds like a fair enough compromise (which isn't to suggest that Oscar-winning make-up wizard Rick Baker didn't do a fine job the first time around). Also moving back is Ridley Scott's Nottingham, now pushed to a TBD date in 2010.
News Bites: Ben Affleck Strikes Back!
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Casting », Deals »
It looks like once Ben Affleck cleans up the not-so-sexy straggly, shaggy-man look for Extract, he's going to town. The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's in negotiations to write, direct, and star in The Town -- a romance/heist flick. It's about a gal bank manager who has her heart broken by a thief "who stole more than her heart" and an FBI agent trying to bust him. Yes, more bad guy allure versus good guy aggravation, I'm sure. Ben has already got all sorts of Best Feature and Most Promising Director accolades, so do you think he's got another gem in him, or will he hit the sophomore slump?Universal Studios Hollywood will offer an extended first look at The Wolfman on its "Terror Tram" as part of the park's Halloween Horror Nights, beginning October 3rd. (Footage to arrive online -- what -- October 4th, ya think?) Said tram takes you to places like the Bates Motel, Psycho House and the "tortured landscape" of War of the Worlds. (Trip to the set of Ace Ventura Jr. not included on Terror Tram for some odd reason.)
Amazon.com has just announced that its subsidiary, IMDB (aka Internet Movie Database), has begun showcasing both feature films and TV shows on its website for users to watch for free. While at first it looks to be more suitable for the casual TV viewer who wants to watch an episode of 30 Rock before its first air date (one pretty cool feature), the announcement indicates that "over 6,000 titles will be available." Films available now include Some Like It Hot, Liar, Liar, Bring It On, Fiddler on the Roof and more (in addition to a whole bunch of shorts). Anyone else losing track of all the different places online where one can download a film or TV program and watch for free? [The Hollywood Reporter]
Cinematical Seven: Great Movies for Smart Girls
Filed under: Fandom », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Seven », Lists »
With Kit Kittredge: An American Girl finally opening in limited release on Wednesday, it seemed like a good time to take a look at other films girls in the same age demographic might also enjoy. As a mother of three daughters, I like to seek out films that have strong female characters. So many of the roles for females in Hollywood either fall into blatant stereotypes or position young girls and women as existing on this planet primarily for the pleasures of the male half of the species, and I don't want my girls growing up believing the images of women they're exposed to through the media. Of course, everything in life doesn't have to have a political agenda -- what fun would that be? So some of these are just films my own daughters very much enjoy, that the girl in your life might like also.
Here are seven great films for fans of American Girl books and movies ... let me know what others I've missed that you like; with only seven slots to work with, I had to leave out a lot of films I otherwise would have included ...
'Hotel for Dogs' Barks Up a Trailer
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Family Films », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
Hotel for Dogs barks into theaters on January 16, 2009.
Alec Baldwin and Emma Roberts Like the 'Lymelife'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Casting »
The big screen is about to get lymey. Variety reports that Derick and Steven Martini's dramedy Lymelife is finally getting made, and it's got a solid cast along for the ride. Alec Baldwin and Emma Roberts lead the pack, followed by Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Rory Culkin (Zodiac), Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down), Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), and Timothy Hutton (The Last Mimzy).A retro piece taking place in late '70s Long Island, the coming-of-age project focuses on "two families who fall apart when precarious relationships, real estate problems, and Lyme disease converge in the heart of suburbia." It's a film that the brothers have been trying to get made for years. The project was developed during the 2001 Sundance Filmmakers Lab, and experimental scenes were even shot with Kieran. (He's since been replaced by Rory, as he's grown too old for his original role. He'll now play an older brother.) Heck, even Baldwin has been attached to the project for years, so while the film might have struggled to get to this point, there's something in it that has a long-term hold on two of the main players.
Filming gets underway next week in New Jersey, and the picture has a tentative release date for January 2009.
Lisa Kudrow Reserves Space in the 'Hotel for Dogs'
Filed under: Casting », Family Films », Newsstand »
With production set to begin next month, the Hotel for Dogs is about to turn off its vacancy sign. In June, I alerted you to the project when Thor Freudenthal was tapped to direct Lois Duncan's children's book from the '70s, about two orphaned teens who hide stray dogs in an abandoned hotel. After getting a director, Eric Roberts' offspring, Emma Roberts, was tapped to star as one of the kids, and then Don Cheadle signed on to play the orphans' social worker. Now we've got much of the cast in place, although there's still no familial cohort for Roberts in sight.Topping the recent additions is Friends alum Lisa Kudrow, fresh off the upcoming Butler/Swank romance, P.S., I Love You. She will play the foster parent of the two dog-loving kids, which will be a bit of a contrast to her other upcoming work -- she's going to produce and star in a black comedy called Intense Girl Scouts. The other new cast member is Johnny Simmons, who recently hit the screen in Evan Almighty, and who is already set to play the young Denny Colt in The Spirit. Since the brother spot is still open, Simmons will be playing Roberts' crush.
They don't have too much time left, so hopefully they pick a co-star soon. Otherwise, it'll be mighty weird to see Roberts act with an imaginary person, and it will be an entirely different story. Instead of a feel-good tale of two kids and some cute canines, she'd be talking to people who aren't there and surrounding herself with dogs -- first step, foster, second step, asylum!
Don Cheadle to Star in 'Hotel for Dogs'
Filed under: Casting », Family Films », Dreamworks »
Replace Rwandan refugees with dogs and what do you get? Don Cheadle's next film. The actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for Hotel Rwanda, has been cast in the similarly titled yet very differently themed movie Hotel for Dogs. It isn't just the title of the new project that reminds us of the earlier film; the synopsis provided by Variety tells us that Hotel for Dogs features a hotel that serves as a refuge and sanctuary for beings that would otherwise be dispose of. Of course, this time they are in fact dogs and not human victims of a civil war in Africa. Last month, when Monika brought you the story of Hotel for Dogs, it was said that Emma Roberts (I'll continue reminding you that she's Julia's niece) would star as one of two orphaned teens who hide stray dogs in an abandoned hotel. We had also learned that it was based on a 1971 children's book by Lois Duncan and that it would be effects artist Thor Freudenthal's directorial debut. The adaptation has been scripted by Jeff Lowell (John Tucker Must Die) and is being produced by Jon Gordon, Lauren Shuler Donner (Unaccompanied Minors) and Jack Leslie.Cheadle apparently will not be a hotel manager this time. Instead, he will play a social worker who keeps the teens out of trouble. I can't find a plot description of the book, but I have a feeling that his role will not be too huge. Seeing as how he mostly appears in R-rated films (including his other 'Dog' title, The Dog Problem), Cheadle is probably just doing this for his preteen daughters. Despite coming from a book by Duncan, who also wrote the source of I Know What You Did Last Summer, this movie will likely be more family friendly. Hotel for Dogs begins shooting in early November, which is probably just after Cheadle finishes the espionage thriller Traitor and should fill some time while he continues to wait on start date announcements for the biopics about Toussaint L'Ouverture and Miles Davis.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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