Johanna Wokalek Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Cinematical is proud to premiere the brand spankin' new poster and green band trailer for The Baader Meinhof Complex, nominated this year for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Directed by Uli Edel, the film features a cast of European all-stars, and looks to be a thriller that has a good shot at transcending potential linguistic barriers -- starting with the title! (Click image below to view full version of the poster, which was created by Shepard Fairey's Studio Number One)

From the official synopsis: "Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation led by Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past ... The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold (Bruno Ganz)."

As I noted when it was acquired for distribution by Vitagraph Films, The Baader Meinhof Complex received a mixed critical reception when it opened in the UK last fall. Still, the reviews that were positive were extremely positive, the trailer looks crazy good, and, with its references to Germany's Nazi past, even ties in (albeit indirectly) to Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Inglourious Basterds.

Watch the Green Band Trailer Premiere of The Baader Meinhof Complex after the jump!

Next time Terry Gilliam gets down about his bad luck, he should talk to Constantin Film about Pope Joan. In October of 2006, Franka Potente signed on. In April 2007, John Goodman got sued for backing out of the feature. That made production stop. Then director Volker Schlöndorff was fired over comments he made to a paper. Last we heard, there was a new director, Sönke Wortmann, but that was last August.

And I just had to go and say: "How funny would it be if she could no longer do it? Also disappointing, since I'd love to see her really command a period piece." The Hollywood Reporter posts that due to scheduling conflicts from the rampant delays, Franka is out and German actress Johanna Wokalek is in as Pope Joan. That news just, well, sucks. It would've been a great opportunity for Franka, and Wokalek isn't well-known stateside, which could affect the production further.

But here's where things get weird. It seems that although he was sued and left eons ago, "Constantin said Wednesday that it remains in talks with Goodman and that the actor could still join the cast." That would certainly help foreign cred, but is he really still around? Is this just due to the lawsuit? The whole production just seems like a mess.

Should I even bother saying that principle photography is now set for August, with the film's release set for 2009? Will this come to fruition, or are more problems on the way?