MaggieQ Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As insane as it would be to see a movie where Nick Nolte chats with God, that's not quite the Arcadia he's getting involved in. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Nolte, Haley Bennett, and Carter Jenkins have signed on for a coming-of-age indie called Arcadia Lost. Bennett and Jenkins star as pretty unlucky step-siblings -- mom and dad die in a car crash on their first family trip, and while on their own "the stunned teens roam the Greek countryside and befriend an expatriate vagabond (Nolte) who leads them to a mysterious spiritual ceremony." So it's kinda god-like, but in a style more fitting to Nolte. If this is your cup of tea, check out THR for info on tracking the film through Facebook.

And then there's the sleek and tough Maggie Q. Variety tells us she's going to star in a new historical action pic directed by Tian ZhuangZhuang called The Warrior and the Wolf. Tang Wei was originally linked to the film, but since Lust, Caution got her in trouble with China, methinks they looked elsewhere. Warrior will tell the story of two warriors in ancient China, and is currently in production in the Xinjiang province.

What probably won't be going into production any time soon, if ever, is a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada. In a discussion with MTV, Anne Hathaway said: "I'm really, really proud of Fox's decision not to pursue a sequel. When I did Bride Wars with them I asked what happened, and they said we can't make a story, and it's not worth it to damage the original film." That being said, she has wished for a decent story for a sequel, and would continue the franchise if it was right. If Fox hasn't come up with something worthwhile yet, they probably won't (kudos to the studio for not forcing the issue) ... but maybe thoughts of more Andy will lead Hathaway to a similar role elsewhere.

One last little bit: George Clooney might be the Lone Ranger? Really? Could you see Clooney and Depp together? Check AICN for more.

Embedded above is the trailer for New York, I Love You, an anthology of shorts from the producers of the similar Paris, Je T'aime, and going off this taste alone, I'd be willing to say that this might turn out to be just as winsome as that film was.

Several directors -- among them: Mira Nair, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, and, um, Brett Ratner -- and even more actors -- including Bradley Cooper, Chris Cooper, Julie Christie, John Hurt, Ethan Hawke, Orlando Bloom, Shia LaBeouf, Kevin Bacon, Maggie Q, and again, Portman -- come together with tales of love and life in the various neighborhoods of NYC.

The film is scheduled to make its world premiere at the fast approaching Toronto International Film Festival next month, and if IMDb is to be believed, it'll open in the States next February and eventually be followed by the likes of Shanghai...

If you were going to create a gallery of rogues, what actors and actresses would you include?

Personally, I'd throw some Christopher Walken in with some Lena Olin, Henry Rollins, Gary Oldman, perhaps some Lena Headey and Jackie Earle Haley ... just to name a few. But maybe I'm completely off because this is a different type of rogue. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Ving Rhames *, Ellen Barkin, Rob Corddry, Bob Odenkirk, Jeffrey Tambor, and Maggie Q have signed on for a new action comedy called Rogue's Gallery -- which already stars Joe Anderson, Odette Yustman, Adam Scott, and Emilie de Ravin.

Written by Brian Watanabe and Abe Levy, and directed by Fouad Mikati, the film focuses on "the battle that ensues among groups of government spy teams in an underground facility after their boss is assassinated." Are there that many spy teams? Do they then use their super spy skills to try and take the others down? The premise sounds like it could have promise.

The film is currently shooting in LA, but we can still dream of our own group of rogues. Who would make your list?

*Okay, he'd definitely make my rogue cut.

You know that feeling you get when something looks so familiar but you just can't put your finger on it? Well, that's how I felt after I saw the latest poster release for Marcel Langenegger's, Deception (see to the right, and click to enlarge). After a furious search to try and figure out just what it was about the poster that was so familiar, I came up empty. Luckily, the sharp eyes over at the Ropes of Silicon boards noticed the poster was almost identical to The Prestige.

Ewan McGregor stars as Jonathan, a buttoned down accountant who is swept up in a mysterious sex club called 'The List'. Hugh Jackman plays his lawyer friend who leads Jonathan down the 'rabbit hole' involving a missing girl and a million dollar fraud. There aren't that many differences between this latest poster release and the previous release -- in fact, there are only a few minor differences. The most noticeable being that Jackman had a lot more real estate on the first poster than he does now. On the upside, we actually get to see McGregor's face this time around.

After watching the trailer, I'll admit that there is no way I would see this film if Jackman and McGregor were not starring (it just has a late night, skinemax vibe). Plus, the film bears a striking resemblance to the 1990 thriller Bad Influence (it even looks like McGregor borrowed James Spader's glasses). Deception is set for release on April 25th, and I can't help but wonder if Fox released this poster in hopes of drumming up some much-needed business.

It took me years to get that horrible Natalie Imbruglia pop song out of my head, and now the singer/actress might be about to return to the spotlight. According to The Herald Sun, the Aussie-born actress was recently in Sydney to film a "secret screen test" for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is gearing up production as we speak. No further information was available on exactly what kind of part Imbruglia was testing for, but one can only assume the 32 year-old beauty was up for the female lead. Imbruglia has recently re-focused her career on acting and back in October we noted that she was playing the lead in the Australian drama Elise, about a missing child. She also appeared in a 2003 action comedy called Johnny English, which was unseen by me but was apparently not very good.

Earlier rumors had Maggie Q latching onto a lead female role in X4, but nothing has been confirmed yet and there's always a possibility that there could be a female villain in the mix. Liev Schreiber is also supposedly circling the role of young Stryker, but we recently passed on the news that Brian Cox is also putting X4 on the resume he's currently sending around, so that adds to the confusion. One of our commenters recently pointed out, however, that the film may be going in the direction of acknowledging that Wolverine is a very old character, which would necessitate the young and old Strykers both being in the film. Makes sense, right?

Balls of Fury
Does anything more need to be said other than that Balls of Fury is a ping pong action movie co-starring Christopher Walken? Frankly, that's enough for me. But if you happen to be a Bruce Lee fan, the fact that it's a spoof of Enter the Dragon may entice you. The comedy details a former Pong phenom called Randy (Dan Fogler), who is sent on a special mission to nab his father's killer, Feng -- who just so happens to be played by Walken. With Maggie Q and a spiritual guide, Randy gets back into ping pong shape and heads to Feng's jungle compound and his ping pong tournaments.

This DVD includes an alternate ending, a small serving of deleted scenes, a comedy bit about, erm, ball handling, and a "Making Of" featurette that includes cast and table tennis guru Wei Wang, who also helped out this year's other ping pong movie, Ping Pong Playa.

Check out James' Review | Buy the DVD

Blade Runner
It has been 25 years since Blade Runner first hit theaters, and now we're getting one hell of an anniversary DVD gift just in time for the holidays. Originally stemming from the mind of Philip K. Dick, the film is a cyber-heavy vision of the future where replicants (human clones) are whipped up to work on colonies outside of Earth. However, when some escape and head to the planet, Deckard (Harrison Ford), a cop and replicant terminator, must put aside his visions of retirement and stop them. The flick also starred the likes of Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, and Daryl Hannah -- and of course, it's one of the biggest and most loved sci-fi films to hit the screen.

Fans can choose one of 3 main sets -- the 2-Disc Special Edition, the 4-Disc Collector's Edition, or the mack daddy of collections: The Ultimate Collector's Edition. The 2-Disc set offers Ridley Scott's new, final cut of the film with three commentaries, plus a feature-length documentary on the film's creation. If that's not enough, you can up it two more discs and also get all the different cuts -- theatrical, international, and director's, as well as another disc with 90 minutes of rare footage and featurettes. Finally, you can add one more disc and store it all in a sweet, metal case. The extra DVD shares a "Workprint Version" that changes things up a bit (such as no Deckard narration and no happy ending) and includes one more featurette and commentary.

Check out Ryan's Review of the Final Cut | Buy the 2-Disc, 4-Disc, or 5-Disc DVD


Other New DVD Releases (December 18)
Stardust
Underdog
Halloween
Rush Hour 3
Evil Dead: Ultimate Edition DVD
Bring It On: In It to Win It
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True

*And apologies to Simpsons fans: The Simpsons Movie

Check out Peter Martin's Indies on DVD for even more new releases.

Dear 20th Century Fox,

I'm writing to request from your offices a reimbursement of funds totaling $11.00, which I believe were obtained from me under false pretenses. As a regular consumer of your products, I rely heavily on the advertising you produce to inform me when I make choices about which films to see and which to avoid, and my reliance on said advertising constitutes a bond of good will between you, the movie studio, and me, the audience member. I believe that bond has been broken in the case of Live Free or Die Hard, a new film that purports to be the continuing adventures of beloved movie character John McClane, but is in reality a film revolving around an entirely new character, who I shall henceforth refer to in this letter as Indestructible Fathead. Before I go on, let me stipulate that I was, in fact, offered a chance by you to see this film for free before its general release, and had I taken you up on that offer, my monetary damages might be lessened. The psychological damages would, I'm afraid, remain.

Like all Die Hard films (or films representing themselves as such) there is a terrorist plot at the center, but despite watching with close attention, I honestly couldn't tell you what it's supposed to be about. We're introduced to a team of cyber-terrorists, led by Timothy Olyphant and Maggie Q, who are attempting to pull off a 'Fire Sale,' which I gather means executing a rapid, simultaneous shutdown of our nation's regional power grids. The simultaneous part is apparently the key, since it has the desired effect of short-circuiting any backup plans and therefore crashes America's infrastructure. Anything run by computer will no longer work. Financial records gone, utilities gone, and so on. In other words, they declare total war on America, from the back of a moving truck. There are so many plot holes here that I won't insult your intelligence by pointing them out. Watching this plot unfold, I was reminded of what Roger Ebert said about Jaws: The Revenge -- that some executive at the studio should have been put in charge of making sure it was at least "a passable thriller."

Cinematical's roving reporter Kevin Kelly made his way out to the junket press conference for Live Free or Die Hard yesterday, and I'm listening to the tapes he sent me right now. It's already hit the web that Bruce Willis says Fox wants another Die Hard movie to follow this one, but I wonder if he's really being serious about that. There was a huge time lapse between the third film and this one, so it would be surprising if the studio decided to immediately put another one into production, even if this one does surprisingly well at the box office. Then again, maybe they sense that Willis really is getting old, so the cow needs to be milked for all its worth now. Here's what Willis had to say on the subject: When asked "will this be the last 'Die Hard' movie," he responded: "No, I don't think so. Fox is already talking about doing another one. I told them I would only do it if Len is involved, and Maggie Q. And Justin, of course. You can't do one without Justin."

Also, when asked if he watched the first three before setting out to make this film, Willis said: "I looked at em' just before we started shooting this. I know I liked the first one. I looked at the second and third one and said 'Can't do that ... can't do that ... can't do that' ... one of the rules we had was that we banned ourselves from being self-referential. The second film, if you go back and look at the second film, there are so many f*ckin' references, referring to the first film. It was such bullshit, I just hated it. It was really just a stupid, stupid thing. I don't know, I mean I liked jumping out of the helicopter onto the wing of that plane. I liked that from the second one. But I'd have to look at it to tell you if there was anything else I liked."

I'll never forget the first time I saw a copy of Five Deadly Venoms. I was walking with a friend through Toronto, one who raved to me over the virtues of the cult-favorite martial arts film. We walked into an old video store by chance, and there it was, an old and tattered copy of Chang Cheh's movie. In that moment, I saw the biggest burst of adult male fanboy possible. I thought the windows would blow from the rush of excitement. Since then, I can't help but smile when I hear the name, and it seems like I'll be smiling more because the film is getting re-made (because of the name, not the remake).

So, the movie started to gear up in December, with Kirk Wong signed on as the writer and director. This will be the first directed feature for Hong Kong helmer since The Big Hit in 1998. Yeah, I know... Now he's reportedly saying that his cast will "probably" include: Jay Chou as the lead, with Edison Chen, Maggie Q, Huang Xiaoming, Wu Jing and Liu Chia-Hui as the Deadly Venoms. There's definitely enough of a draw for some wider audiences, especially Q, who is following up Mission: Impossible III with Balls of Fury and Live Free or Die Hard, and Chia-Hui, who played Johnny Mo in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Pai Mai in Vol. 2. The film has a nice $15 million budget and will shoot this September in Shanghai, Harbin (China) and the U.S. So, now the question is: Will this be worth it? His last film was pretty questionable, and now he's taking on a beloved classic. Are you ready to see the Five Deadly Venoms strike again?

[via Twitch]

There's something vaguely schizophrenic about the career arcs of filmmakers Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant. (And by "vaguely" I mean "ridiculously.") On one hand they're the co-creators of stuff like The State and Reno 911!, both of which are certifiably hilarious TV shows. On the other, less enjoyable, hand, these guys wrote not only The Pacifier, but Taxi and Herbie: Fully Loaded as well. (And they also have Let's Go to Prison and Night at the Museum on the way, as well as the Reno 911! movie.)

Mr. Garant makes his directorial debut on a bizarre-looking ping-pong comedy called Balls of Fury, and before you check out the brand-new trailer, give a gander at the blissfully bizarre cast list: Dan Fogler, Maggie Q, George Lopez, Aisha Tyler, James Hong, David Koechner and Christopher Walken, looking as if he just wandered off the set of Dracula: The Spoof.

OK, now you can check the trailer out. I got a few chuckles out of the thing, even if it does feel more like a Netflix rental than an opening night gotta-see.