JuanAntonioBayona Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Color me surprised.

I feel like I shouldn't be any time something gets in line to be remade, but I thought we would've heard about a remake of the J.A. Bayona-directed, Guillermo del Toro-produced thriller The Orphanage by now. Well, it's indeed in the works, with del Toro remaining on board as producer and Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter) being brought on as director, according to THR.

An actor, producer, director, writer and editor in his own right, Fessenden has no small familiarity with the horror genre -- even presently starring as a grave robber in this Friday's horror-comedy, I Sell the Dead -- and his more considered filmmaking style seems ideal for a story that turns out to have as much sorrow in store as spooks.

The Reporter notes the the project is still in need of a lead actress. The original hinged on Belén Rueda's wonderfully empathetic performance; who do you think could fill the role of leading lady in this case? Not to dwell on that Lovely Bones post, but I really do think Rachel Weisz could bring the right sensibility to this, or maybe Diane Lane... Your thoughts?

The Twilighters can breathe a sigh of relief. After much speculation and breathless arguing, Drew Barrymore is no longer a contender to helm the third Twilight installment, Eclipse.

Barrymore detached herself from the project over at MTV News with her usual amount of charm: "Oh, I wish that I was! I adore that project and I adore the team that's making it. And I am very honored to now be a director and going up for other movies and being offered other movies as a director. I'm now an actor/producer/director! How lucky am I! [But] no, we're not going to do it together."

Barrymore's involvement was initially announced by Entertainment Weekly, and was quickly confirmed by the actress to AP reporters. "I'm one of the directors that is being talked about, which is great, because I'm a director now. But, you know, they'll make their choice."

Despite all rumors of Juan Antonio Bayona, Summit still hasn't made one ... but now you know one person it absolutely isn't. Fans will undoubtedly be pleased as "Not Drew Barrymore!" seemed to be the resounding cry whenever the topic came up on news sites and Twilight forums all across our great Internet. Despite that no one has seen Whip It!, I was in her corner on this one, and I am glad to see her name being tossed around a franchise, especially a girl-driven one that seems to have gone to the boys.

Will it be Weitz? Will it be Barrymore? Will it be Bayona?

The other day, we learned that Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen in Twilight) had been told who the director of the upcoming Eclipse was: "I would say [the name] if I could remember it. But I know it was a guy." Could this guy be genre filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona? The Risky Biz Blog says that vamp sources are naming The Orphanage helmer as a final contender, although they're still supposedly looking at other candidates.

I bet this would bode well for the film, especially given one line in Scott's review of the film: "Del Toro's fingerprints are all over The Orphanage, but it's first-time feature director Bayona strikes a fantastic balance between well-earned chills and strangely heart-touching emotion." That's pretty much just what the Twilight world needs -- someone who can give the romance for the Edward and Bella fiends, while also fleshing out the story's particulars -- bloody battles and unsolved murders.

Part of me is still mourning the boys school that the Twilight franchise has fallen into, but at least this directorial possibility has some merit. Should Bayona board this world of vampire romance, or is it time to get to Hater already?

A long time passed since 10 Things I Hate About You hit the big screen. Julia Stiles got Bourne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has become a powerhouse on the indie scene, and Heath Ledger ... we know what became of him. I'm guessing that his death and reminiscing moments about his work is what inspired this next piece of news: Ace Showbiz reports that ABC Family is going to make the Shakespeare-inspired film into a television series, with the film's director, Gil Junger, signed on to helm the pilot. In it, Kate and Bianca Stratford will face "their new high school environment." I don't know if that means freshman hitting the big leagues, or the girls moving to a new zip code, but I can only hope that they come up with a new love interest for Kate. There's only one Patrick Verona.

Hater has been on a long road to production, but it looks like the time is finally here. Almost a year ago, Guillermo del Toro had signed on to direct the adaptation of David Moody's novel. But then the Hobbit swept him away and left Hater director-less. Have no fear, Moody fans, the pic is back on track. Variety reports that the director of The Orphanage, Juan Antonio Bayona, will helm the feature when it kicks into gear next year. So, if you liked the one-two producer-director punch of del Toro and Bayona, this should be a treat!

Hit the jump for a few exhibition news bits for the next few months.

A solid handful of indie titles vie for your attention on the DVD shelves this week. I've already written about the marketing for Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs, my pick of the week, but that shouldn't overshadow the intrinsic quality of the film itself. The DVD from IFC includes Thanks for the Add!, a short film by Swanberg, an audio commentary by Swanberg and actors / co-writers Greta Gerwig and Kent Osborne, behind the scenes footage, and SXSW video production diary spots.

I watched Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage (pictured) with expectations set perhaps too high. I thought it would be a thrilling Spanish ghost story; instead it's a rather pallid drama about a mother and a lost son with just a smidgen of suspense and supernatural overtones. Jette Kernion had a response similar to mine, but others liked it much more, including our own Scott Weinberg, who praised it as "entirely captivating from start to finish." The DVD from Picturehouse includes three featurettes and something on the somewhat misleading marketing campaign.

Family dysfunction and elder care may not sound like sexy subjects, but Tamara Jekins "simply takes us into the story of her fascinating characters, and the integrity with which she handles it makes it ring true throughout." That was the reaction of Kim Voynar to The Savages; she was especially impressed by the performances of Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The DVD from Fox Searchlight includes an extended scene, director's snapshots, and a featurette entitled "About the Savages."

Juan Antonio Bayona's Il Orfanato (The Orphanage) earned raves at Cannes -- and now it's taking the Toronto International Film Festival by storm. A classically spooky ghost story with more than a few modern touches in the vein of producer Guillermo Del Toro's own work, The Orphanage is a surprisingly entertaining and assured feature-length debut for director Juan Antonio Bayona. Mixing character-driven drama with a host of jumps and starts, Bayona's film chills and startles -- and also works as a sensitive, character-driven drama between the jumps and starts. Mr. Bayone spoke with Cinematical at the Toronto International Film Festival; to download the interview, click here.

I'm not exactly sure what it is about orphanages that strike such fear into the hearts of Spanish filmmakers, but if the resulting films turn out to be as excellent as Guillermo Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone and Juan Antonio Bayona's debut, The Orphanage, I'm certainly not about to complain. (A third example, Jaume Balaguero's Fragile, is certainly stylish and watchable enough, but in no way is it on the same level as the other two.) The comparisons to Del Toro's mini-masterpiece are logical enough; the masterful filmmaker worked as a hands-on producer for The Orphanage -- and it shows.

The story is a smoothly simple one: Laura and Carlos are a loving married couple who have an adopted son called Simon. The family decides to purchase and renovate the old orphanage where Laura was raised -- and of course little Simon immediately comes across a bunch of new 'imaginary' friends. The orphanage is located next to a creepy old lighthouse, a beautiful beach and a foreboding cave -- locations that provide Bayona with a very effective palette. Without spoiling anything: We're told that young Simon has a deadly disease that requires daily medications, which makes his disappearance from a 'grand re-opening' party cause for serious concern.

Several months go by and Simon is still missing, but his adopted mother refuses to accept that he's gone. Needless to say ... she's right. Toss in the arrival of a creepy old nurse, the intermittent presence of a disturbed child with a sack over his head, and a few cops and parapsychologists who have their own theories -- and you have a meticulously-crafted and powerfully atmospheric little ghost story. But The Orphanage is much more than just another 'haunted building' story.