Josh Duhamel Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Not too long ago, Katie Holmes was the one getting ousted. After romancing Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, she was set aside so Maggie Gyllenhaal could whip up a much more spot-on Rachel Dawes. Now it's her time to take over a role. It might not be part of a well-established franchise, but Variety reports that Holmes will be replacing Liv Tyler in the romantic comedy The Romantics.

As I wrote when Tyler signed on for the project, this film sees Galt Niederhoffer adapting and directing from her own novel, which focuses on a group of college friends who reunite after 6 years for a wedding. The event brings up a rivalry between the groom, the bride, and her maid of honor. Anna Paquin is playing the bride, Josh Duhamel is the groom, and Holmes is stepping in as maid of honor. (Other cast include Malin Akerman, Elijah Wood, Adam Brody, and Jeremy Strong.)

Since its "thin stereotypes" seem to trump the Big Chill feel to the plot, this could very possibly mark another not-so-good turn for the actress. After her 3-year hiatus post-bats and Smoking, Holmes decided Mad Money was the way to go, and we all know that was a crappy choice. But she seems to really like this gig -- Holmes is not only co-starring, she's also executive producing (her first time). Yet, for someone trying to find her place in her adult career, I'm surprised she isn't finding more on the gritty or less mainstreamish end of the indie world. The comedies with recognizable names -- they never seem to do her well. But the drama and dramedy ... ice storms, nights with drug dealers, gifts, singing detectives, Thanksgiving dinners, and smoking are the times she's gotten a solid reception. Will this project get included on the above list? I'm not holding my breath.

What did you like the most about Transformers? Was it Megan Fox bending over an automobile hood? Shia LaBeouf learning to be a man behind the wheel of a yellow Chevy Camaro? Huge mechanical beasts suddenly emerging from the least likely hiding places? The military unit that found itself in the middle of an interstellar war in the middle of the desert? If it's the latter, you're in luck. Though the trailers and clips released for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen have focused mainly on the Fox and the 'Bots so far, the military men finally get their due in the latest clip. (Note: the image above is not from the clip, but gives off a similar vibe.)

Moviefone has a short, tantalizing teaser clip that focuses on a unit led by Josh Duhamel, which appears to have gone international (check the arm patches). It's nighttime and they're flying in on helicopters to deal with the latest "enemy contact." Tyrese Gibson gets to mutter my favorite two words so far: "Thermal ripple." Despite my huge reservations about the first film, it's hard to resist whirling helicopters, bombastic martial music, a cool nighttime setting, and giant robot action, especially when it's all packed into a clip that's barely more than a minute long. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens everywhere on June 24.

After the jump: Watch the clip!

If it wasn't for Andrew Stanton at the helm of John Carter of Mars, I think the interest might completely bottom out with its casting. ComingSoon had the scoop via Twitter that Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins were set to star, and the rumor became reality in The Hollywood Reporter.

Kitsch will be playing the titular Carter, a Civil War veteran who is transported (via astral projection, leaving his lifeless body behind) to Mars. There he meets the lovely Martian princess Dejah Thoris, wins her hand, rediscovers his own humanity, and rescues Mars. The film is tipped to begin filming in 2010, and they've been scouting Utah for Martian locations.

When Stanton discussed the project earlier this year, he mentioned they wanted an unknown despite the fact Hugh Jackman was tipped as a fan favorite. How odd then that they've managed to recast 2/4 of Jackman's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. THR notes that Jon Hamm and Josh Duhamel also tested for the part, and while I've got nothing against Kitsch (I'm not going to hold Gambit against him), I really wish they had chosen Hamm. An ex-Confederate needs a bit of age and weariness to him instead of being a fresh faced up and comer ... but then again, a lot of Civil War soldiers were ridiculously young when they enlisted, so perhaps Kitsch can play it as disillusioned and old-before-his-time. One can hope ...

Sometimes you really need to be careful what you wish for, or at least where you steal coins from. In February, Jessica posted about the new Disney romantic comedy When in Rome, which will star the electric detective Kristen Bell. She will play a real estate agent in New York City who heads to Rome for her sister's impulsive marriage. There, she picks coins out of a "fountain of love" to try to find the romance out of her reach, and when she heads home, she finds a lot of mens waiting for her. Now surprise, surprise, Variety reports that Jon Heder and Dax Shepard have signed on for roles.

Oh, yes -- they're both potential suitors for the lucky Bell. Heder will take on the role of a street magician who tries to win her love with his..."talents," and Shepard will play "a self-absorbed suitor who falls under the spell and chases the girl." I must say -- these weren't the sort of choices I was imagining. Perhaps instead of finding all the possible men she could date, Bell will get a serving of Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered. Where's Logan when you need him?

Oh wait! The Hollywood Reporter has more on the story, saying that Josh Duhamel and Anjelica Huston have also signed on. Bell has been saved -- they say that Josh will be the romantic lead. Huston, meanwhile, will be Bell's boss, who is the curator of the Guggenheim.

Still... I miss Veronica Mars.

Travel advisory: if you ever find yourself walking aimlessly under the snake-dripping treetops of an uncharted Amazonian jungle with no food or water, and the only person who shows up to help you looks like the Brazilian Roy Scheider, fire your travel agent. Turistas, an expensive horror movie from the newly christened Fox Atomic logo, is notable for two things: some impressive natural scenery and for fetishizing something that is normally more of a given in the horror genre -- the white-woman-in-distress motif. The story concerns a ragtag group of 'gringos' -- the word is used about 100 times -- who stray off course during some South American holiday-making and end up in the clutches of a mad surgeon with a colonialism-chip on his shoulder. He intends to remove their vital organs and bundle them off to the black market. Once an unlucky gringo is strapped to the operating gurney, they are forced to simultaneously watch their own evisceration and listen to the doctor's quips, like: "I'd also take the skin from your lily-white ass, but it doesn't travel."

Needless to say, creepiness is the wavelength the film wants to travel on, as opposed to the usual buffet of boo-moments. Fair enough, but aside from those unfortunate transplant sessions, there are only a couple of moments that really deliver on that level. One occurs in the opening moments of the film, when the turistas, who clump together on foot after the tour bus they are all sharing crashes, encounter an unaccompanied Brazilian child in the street. A friendly attempt to snap a photo of the kid nearly sets off an international incident, with the angry parents rushing into the frame, spitting curses and threats in Portuguese. It's a good 'back away slowly' moment. A more serious culture clash comes when the group, led by an Australian beach bunny called Pru (Melissa George) and a sensitive jock called Alex (Josh Duhamel) unwittingly arrive at the jungle home of the evil surgeon. Because they don't speak the lingo, they stand idly by, checking their watches, as the doctor and his henchmen walk around them and between them like incurious sharks, all the while chatting in Portuguese about how they are going to slice and dice them.

When a blissful Brazilian holiday becomes a horrific gauntlet of murder, mayhem and involuntary organ harvests -- it's horror movie time. The flick in question is Turistas, which is the very first release from Fox Atomic, and I think it looks pretty darn intriguing -- and no, not just because of the mega-skimpy bikinis, tyvm.

Sixth directorial effort from actor-turned-helmer John Stockwell (he starred in Christine and My Science Project; as director he's previously given us Crazy/Beautiful, Blue Crush and Into the Blue), Turistas is about a bunch of exceedingly photogenic young Americans who run afoul of some black-market nastiness while enjoying a salacious Brazilian vacation. The model-hot "normal kids" are played by Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, Olivia Wilde (sigh), Desmond Askew and Beau Garrett -- and this crew looks to be in a whole lot of sweaty trouble, despite the fact that they're all too gorgeous for words.

The screenplay comes from editor / first-time screenwriter Michael Ross, and it looks to be a semi-creative take on a fairly standard slasher conceit: Hot kids congregate, commit licentious acts -- and then spend the rest of the flick running desperately for their lives as a killer stalks their every step. Only this one's in Brazil ... and there are gurneys involved. Ick.

So fingers crossed on Turistas, which could either be a great little horror thriller or a depthless, vicious dungpile in which we applaud the numerous demises of people much, much sexier than ourselves. At least with Stockwell behind the camera, you know the thing will most likely LOOK good. (Try watching Into the Blue on MUTE some time. Makes the flick about 45 times more entertaining.) To keep you interested until the movie's December 1 release date, you can check out this old promo clip or this brand-new theatrical trailer.

Either way, Brazil's not gonna like this.

Fox Atomic, the hideously named new young-adult division from Fox Filmed Entertainment, has acquired its first film for distribution. And, because there are just not enough crappy horror movies aimed at young-adults coming out right now, they've grabbed one of those -- take that, Lionsgate! This particular horror flick is called Turistas, and stars Josh Duhamel, Melissa George (AKA the most hated woman in the history of Alias) and Olivia Wilde as "college-age backpackers who embark on a dream vacation along the Brazilian coast." Sharp-eyed readers will note I said "horror," so clearly this is not going to be a Brazilian travelogue (though I have to say I'd be more likely to watch that movie than this one). In fact, things on the trip go south when, after an unspecified accident, the trio "discover a beachside bar filled with revelers, only to end up drugged by the locals and two of them kidnapped." Hmm. Can you say "Hostel in South America?" I knew you could.

Though the film, directed by John Stockwell (He also helmed both Into the Blue and Blue Crush -- I wonder if an early title for this one was Dead Blue Americans.), is completed, Fox hasn't yet specified a release date.