Leaves of Grass Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Looking Ahead to the 2009 Denver Film Festival
Filed under: Festival Reports »
Denver may not be a city that attracts the amount of movie industry buzz that centers around our Western neighbors of Telluride, Sundance and Austin, but we do have a solid and fervent community of film lovers here. We don't have a ton of film events, but what we do have is cherished and obsessed over enough to rival the Alamo Drafthouse.
One of these events is the Starz Denver Film Festival, which is going strong in its 32nd year. After partnering with Starz, over the years, we've played host to Crispin Glover, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, Will Smith, Ang Lee, and enjoyed every on-the-cusp-of-Oscar movie of the past three seasons. This year is no exception as the festival kicks off this week with Precious, which was produced by the Denver-based Sarah Siegel Magness and Gary Magness. Denver will also get a chance to "meet" the film's buzzed about star, Gabourey Sidibe. Three legendary actors will be receiving the spotlight while enjoying our thin air: Ed Harris and his latest film, Touching Home will be the focus of a special evening, and will receive the Mayor's Achivement Award. Hal Holbrook will be receiving the Excellence in Acting Award, and be on hand with his new film, That Evening Sun. Last but not least, J.K. Simmons will be receiving the Cassavetes Award, and be presenting his new film, The Vicious Kind.
But hey, that's the glitzy statuette stuff. If you're a Colorado native, you need to check out the impressive schedule which includes big films such as Leaves of Grass, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Last Station, The Young Victoria, and Best Worst Movie with special screenings of its star, Troll 2. If you want to avoid the buzz, there's enough intriguing indies, documentaries, and foreign film selections to make your eyeballs fall out.
Live from TIFF: Tim Blake Nelson and Ed Norton Talk 'Leaves of Grass'
Filed under: Casting », Festival Reports », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie »
Above: First poster for Leaves of Grass (click to enlarge), which begins shooting on September 22.
Tim Blake Nelson and Edward Norton were on-hand in Toronto on Sunday to discuss their upcoming film, Leaves of Grass. Nelson wrote the script and will act in and direct the film, while Norton will play the dual lead roles of identical twin brothers.
Here's what we were told of the storyline: Bill Kincaid is a buttoned-up Ivy League philosophy professor; his pot-growing twin brother lures him back to his hometown in rural Oklahoma for an ill-conceived deal to bilk a local drug-lord (Richard Dreyfuss), described by Nelson as being like "a Jewish T. Boone Pickens in the Tulsa Jewish community". Bill gets entangled in his brother's schemes and implicated in a murder, and his ordered philosophical life starts to fall apart. Also starring in the film are Susan Sarandon as Bill's estranged mother and Keri Russell as a love interest for one of the brothers. Nelson will play the friend of one of the brothers.
Edward Norton Rolls in 'Leaves of Grass'
Filed under: Comedy », Thrillers », Casting »
Ed Norton's acting career has thrown him into a number of roles over the years, from scary skinheads to his most recent role, a man who turns green and busts sh*t up. But now he's onto something else, courtesy of Hulk co-star Tim Blake Nelson. Variety reports that Norton will play dual roles in the upcoming comedic thriller, Leaves of Grass -- a project Nelson wrote and will act in. I have to admit, I've been a waning fan of Norton's over the last few years, but this could just be the film to amp things up again (in the non-green sort of way).Plot details haven't been released yet, but Ed's roles have: "Norton will play identical twins -- one an Ivy League classics professor, and the other a hedonistic, pot-smoking career criminal." This should be interesting, especially since Norton rocked at portraying inner personality conflict in Fight Club (or Primal Fear for that matter) -- this is just split personalities as two people. The actor says about the role: "The challenge of playing twins for an actor is very special, and I was very flattered that Tim sent Leaves of Grass to me. I liked it so much, and felt so strongly that it was a film Tim understood to his core, that I took it to my partners and suggested we produce it. This is exactly the kind of personal filmmaking that we set out to support.
So, Ed's also on as producer, and will take on the role once he finishes his stint in State of Play. Nelson, meanwhile, has got to be relieved. He said that if Norton had declined, "there would have been no second choice." So, are you ready to see Ed take on dual roles (again), or are you just waiting to see him go green?
Ed Norton and 'Hulk' Co-Star Return for 'Leaves of Grass'
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Deals »
Well I guess things are going well on the set of The Incredible Hulk because Edward Norton and co-star Tim Blake Nelson seem to have become serious BFFs. Coming Soon.net reports that Norton and Nelson (sounds like a vaudeville team doesn't it?) will work together on the crime comedy, Leaves of Grass. Norton will direct the comedy about twin brothers who get mixed up with "murderous potheads" – which to me sounds like a contradiction in terms. Norton will play both brothers, of which one is a successful professor and the other is a low-life criminal who unfortunately is not exactly a mastermind. Nelson will produce as well as star in the flick, but there is no word on his role in the film.Norton has some experience when it comes to directing comedy, since his first effort behind the camera was the 2000 romantic comedy, Keeping the Faith. Knowing how Norton likes to get involved behind the camera for his films, it wouldn't surprise me if he has some writing in mind for this project as well. Norton's latest project, the political thriller State of Play has hit a snag now that co-star Brad Pitt has left the project (although there is still the chance that Russell Crowe is going to swoop in and save the film by filling in where Pitt left off). So it's probably not a bad idea for Norton to line up another project just in case. Grass is reportedly scheduled to begin shooting on location in New Orleans this March.
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