FlorianHenckelVonDonnersmarck Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Sony's thriller The Tourist just keeps sending its talent packing. Originally set to be a vehicle for Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron, it shifted gears last month and was re-cast with Angelina Jolie and Sam Worthington. But once again, The Tourist finds itself without travel arrangements for a male lead as Variety reports that Worthington is out due to "creative disagreements" and Johnny Depp is in.

Depp is still in talks to play the hapless American tourist, and with the way this film is going, one can't assume it's finalized. But if it is, it might just be the casting coup of 2010. A Depp-Jolie pair-up has been something dreamed about by a lot of producers and studios over the years. Once upon a time, rumor even had them attached to play Cathy and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. People want to see them having onscreen sex. It'd be the hottest thing since ... well, Brad Pitt and Jolie having sex onscreen. (And off. Hey, I'm just being honest. There was a reason everyone wanted to see their offspring.)

The Tourist is also on the hunt for a director. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was circling the project, but departed alongside Worthington over those whispery creative differences. Reportedly, a lot of directors are interested, including Alfonso Cuaron. While shake-ups can be be a sign of a bad film, I'd like to think that a thriller that winds up with Jolie, Depp, and Cuaron came together exactly as it was meant to.

Angelina Jolie's pet project The Tourist might finally have a director, according to Variety. Internationally acclaimed director and writer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck "hasn't formally entered into negotiations," but it's looking likely that the man behind the critically hailed film The Lives of Others will be hopping behind the camera for this 2011 release.

Jolie reportedly turned down the sequel of Wanted in favor of The Tourist (although the rumors of her return of the sexy tattooed assassin remain at large) but she was holding out on officially signing on to The Tourist until Spyglass found a director she approved of.

Strangely enough, Tom Cruise was originally set to costar but dropped out in favor of Knight & Day with Cameron Diaz. Jolie's latest film, Salt, was originally set to star Tom Cruise, but then he backed out, the writers did a quick fix-me-up on the script, and voila -- here's Evelyn Salt!

In any case, this remake of Anthony Zimmer is about an Interpol agent hot on the trail of a former paramour and criminal; the spy makes use of an American tourist to help find her. Sam Worthington (Avatar) costars as the tourist, and according to /Film, Jolie plays the ex. On the other hand, Variety is reporting that she plays the Interpol agent. Hollywood Reporter is taking the safer route and not saying what Jolie's role will be. Yikes!

2011 sounds like one of those things where the movie keeps getting pushed back more and more until the stars and director are all like, "Whatever, I have no idea what's happening with that any more." But remember when Angelina Jolie provided us guilty pleasure movies like The Bone Collector? I would be happy to see her as the spy or the criminal; what do you think?

Perhaps the secret to filmmaking is simplicity. Simple notions can open an array of doors and options, whereas a complex starting point doesn't have the same easily-accessible origins. This seems to be the case with The Lives of Others, which was an incredibly simple idea that grew into a complex and compelling story. The film was born when a scene popped into Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's head of a surveillance man who expects disloyalty, but instead finds himself moved by what he hears. It's the inextricable flaw of Big Brother -- when run by human hands, there is no guarantee that someone will remain impartial.

As Martha Fischer described in her review, Stasti officer Gerd Wiesler watches Georg Dreyman evolve from a hands-off citizen to passionate rebel. Wiesler begins to spot the flaws in what he previously saw as a flawless system, and begins to act accordingly. But there is also a power behind the film that becomes clear when you step behind the scenes. When I saw the film at TIFF, the Q&A made everything a little bit clearer, and the recent interview with Donnersmarck for The Hollywood Reporter does the same.

This is a film that draws power from personal experience. While research and consultants are well and good, Others has an understanding that fuels the piece and makes it seem all the more real. Donnersmarck did conduct extensive research to get it right, but he also had his memories of travelling to East Germany, and an actor who knew the Stasi first-hand. Now, after winning a flurry of awards in Germany, it is the country's submission to the Oscars.

At the center of The Lives of Others is Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe), a quietly proud Stasi officer who has spent his life and career in unquestioning service of the East German government. His service is not blind: Wiesler is a man who serves with full knowledge of what his State does to its enemies -- indeed, he teaches interrogation at the Stasi University, and is applauded by students for his ability to break suspects. He's not a mindless functionary but an intelligent man who sincerely feels socialism is the best path for his country, and that the Stasi provides a crucial service. Not a proponent of belligerent proselytizing, Wiesler simply observes the world around him, judging with his sad eyes when he sees others whose commitment to the State stems from self-interest rather than true devotion to its principles. When his superior and old friend Anton Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur) becomes increasingly focused on his own advancement within the Stasi hierarchy, Wiesler offers the dour disapproval of a parent, quietly asking the other to remember why they first joined the Party.

Dragged by Grubitz to the theater one night on yet another of his friend's steps towards self-advancement, Wiesler sees a play by Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch in a charming, low-key performance), one of the few high-profile, truly talented playwrights in the country fully committed to the Socialist cause. After spending most of of the show watching Dreyman, Wiesler becomes vaguely suspicious of the man's true feelings and, through a series of accidental circumstances, finds himself charged with setting up and directing surveillance on Dreyman's apartment.