There's nothing like a good movie poster to pump up your Monday after weekend shenanigans and hours of Oscar coverage. Over to the right, you can see the poster for La Linea. MoviesOnline says that an anonymous scooper sent them the image, and I'm betting that they got it over at IMDb. Whatever the case, it's looking just as sweet as it sounds.

I first blogged about the movie back in September. While it isn't a recreation of that animated line drawing, it is a new drug movie that has one hell of a cast. Ray Liotta stars as Mark Shields, a veteran assassin who is hunting down Pelon (Esai Morales), the head of the Salazar Cartel, while also getting close to a local gal named Olivia (Valerie Cruz). Set in Tijuana, the film has got these men to back up the action: Andy Garcia, Armand Assante, Bruce Davison, the Machete himself, Danny Trejo, and last but certainly not least -- Joe Morton.

The movie is set to hit screens this October, and I imagine that we'll get a trailer soon. Or, at least, I hope so. Every time my eyes read "Welcome to Tijuana" on that poster, I get a head full of Al Pacino following that line up with: "Say hello to my little friend." Whether it will actually be comparable to Scarface, we'll have to wait and see.

First, I must disappoint some of you by warning: This film is NOT some strange remake of the classic line-animation La Linea. Remember that? It's the cartoon about a line that becomes a little guy who walks around, often walking into things and always either making requests of the artist, or yelling at him for something. While we won't see a big line on the big screen, this new La Linea incarnation is looking like it's worth the time. The Hollywood Reporter posted that Ray Liotta has signed on to star in the crime drama with Esai Morales and Valerie Cruz, and they've got one heck of an ensemble cast in final talks. There's two of my favorite actors, Joe Morton and Danny Trejo, as well as Armand Assante, Kevin Cage (the porn star, or did THR typo?), and Jason Connery. Plus: Andy Garcia is in early talks for a small role.

The film, loosely-based on the Arellano Felix drug cartel, is about a lieutenant of a drug cartel (Morales) who takes over business and becomes a loose cannon. (Garcia would play the ill kingpin of the cartel.) An LA-based assassin, played by Liotta, is hired to kill him. Cruz, meanwhile, will play a woman named Olivia, who is a meth addict in Tijuana trying to get clean for her kid -- how she fits into the rest remains to be seen. The feature was written by R. Ellis Frazier, who is also producing with Geoffrey Ross, and will be directed by James Cotten. Production is scheduled to begin next month in LA and Tijuana.

According to a story that originally ran in the New York Post last week, Charlie Sheen and Esai Morales are in talks to bring the real-life story of William Rodriguez to the big screen. Rodriguez was working as a janitor on 9/11 and had the only available master key to the WTC complex when the first plane struck. Thus, the 20-year veteran helped firefighters evacuate the north tower by traveling alongside them, unlocking doors and saving lives.

In an interesting twist to the Rodriguez story, the hero later turned around and slapped a lawsuit on President Bush claiming the Commander in Chief orchestrated the 9/11 attacks in order to justify wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not surprisingly, the lawsuit was dismissed and will not be mentioned in the film. Also involved in the project is writer-director David Marconi, though I must stress that nothing here is official. Is it just me, or do you also think Hollywood should take a bit of a break from the 9/11 films? Ya know, we wouldn't want to cash in on a "hot topic," right?

[via Movie Blog]