I had to make such a tough decision last week when offered to attend a screening of either Tropic Thunder or Pineapple Express this coming Wednesday. What the hell does one do in that kind of situation? Both films look hilariously awesome to the tenth degree. I mean, if I could split my movie brain in half and send each part to a different screening, I totally would. But I can't. So I had to make a decision. I won't say which flick I picked right now, because then you won't tune in later this week when I spoil everything! That's right! Every last minute of the movie, right down to the order of the credits. Spoiled!

But anyway, check out a new international trailer for Tropic Thunder up top (or over on the film's official international site). Since it's from our international friends, it might be a little beyond a green band trailer, so keep that in mind office folk. There's not much else to say about this one -- watch it for yourself and tell me it doesn't look out of control. Stiller worries me sometimes because he could be a little too "stupid," but with Downey Jr., Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, Bill Hader, Justin Theroux, Jay Baruchel and Jack Black in there, I think we'll be okay.

Tropic Thunder blows its way into theaters on August 15.

Indiana Jones -- he's got to be Harrison Ford, doesn't he? Okay, we had young Indiana Jones characters -- River Phoenix in the opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Sean Patrick Flanery in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles -- but I never really thought of Indy as a character who could be cast in any other way. You know, you figure the part in Raiders of the Lost Ark was practically written for Ford, who'd been in a couple of George Lucas films before that anyway (Star Wars and American Graffiti).

However, that assumption couldn't be more wrong. I've been digging around on that great source of reliable information, the Internet, and reading all kinds of stories about the casting of Indiana Jones. The general gist is that Steven Spielberg was interested in Ford, but Lucas didn't want to be one of those directors who cast the same guy in all his movies. So they tested a bunch of other actors, and were seriously interested in one who had to back out ... and then ended up with Harrison Ford after all. We are all profoundly grateful. But let's take a look at some of those actors allegedly under consideration, and a few more that I threw into the mix just for fun. (I picked only actors who were alive and the right age at the time, which is why you don't see Steve McQueen on the list.)

It seems that Scarlett Johansson wasn't the only one in the Big Apple, shooting for the upcoming anthology New York, I Love You, and I kind of like it. I'm sure it wasn't an "On your marks, get set, go!" sort of affair, but it's neat to think of different filmmakers across a city filming bits for the same film at the same time. Actually, I'd love to see a bunch of great filmmakers all run off to different parts of the same city, on the same day, and shoot their versions of it, but I digress.

Just Jared has thrown up pictures of Natalie Portman filming scenes with a Hasidic jew for the film. In the shots, she was on the Brooklyn Bridge. All that's being said about her particular short is that she's playing a Jewish bride -- presumably of the cute fellow at her side.

There is, however, word on some of the other New York players -- aside from Kevin Bacon taking part in ScarJo's short, Elijah Wood and Nick Nolte are also involved. Could this mean that there will be two continuations from Paris, je t'aime? Both Wood and Nolte had bits in the first film, and that would be great, if a few players keep traveling around the world for these city love stories. Here's to hoping that they have the same parts.

I may not be too thrilled with the thought of male modeling sequels, but I'm itching to see what Ben Stiller makes with his first directing gig since Zoolander. The flick is Tropic Thunder, and that image above is part of the first look released by Entertainment Weekly. This time, the focus is actors, and the comedy follows a group "of self-indulgent stars cast in the modern equivalent of Apocalypse Now." However, the director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with them and ship them off to the jungle to fend for themselves.

Meanwhile, Stiller and those involved are hoping this comedy doesn't start an uproar.

2008 is not this generation's 1968. Let's get that matter straight, right away. Even if we can draw some parallels or see some similarities between now and then, the truth is that it was a very tragic year, and despite our penchant to fetishize the period and wish that our time could be so important and powerful, we need to pray no politicians are assassinated this year (the fact that one particular candidate has been compared to both MLK and RFK is especially upsetting) and we need to be thankful that there is no draft. But mostly we need to just move on from the '60s already and stop attempting to appropriate its events in order to heighten the relevance of the 2000s. 2008 is indeed a significant year on its own, or it could be if we let it exist as such.

That said, Chicago 10, the latest documentary from Oscar-nominee Brett Morgen (On the Ropes) is literally about events of forty years ago, though the filmmaker claims it is a film about now. Okay, sure, there may be some relevant themes, but imprisoning your film with such definite statements of purpose makes it possibly less enjoyable to the people who are tired of these weak and easy-minded juxtapositions. Without acknowledging the obviously apparent intent, Chicago 10 is actually appreciable as one of the most creative and entertaining documentary films in years. And it could indeed be viewed as significant on its own, if we let it exist as such.

Most directors' first effort is NOT a huge blockbuster smash of a comedy starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, but that's how writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber hit the scene: with Dodgeball. But based on the filmmaker's second effort, I'm guessing that Thurber took a lot of good-natured ribbing from his film-school friends and decided to snag some "indie cred" by doing a smaller movie for his second feature. That's all well and good, but it's too bad that the resulting movie -- The Mysteries of Pittsburgh -- is such an inert, episodic, and familiar piece of very typical festival fare. It's as if Mr. Thurber watched six Sundance films at random, and then just copied his favorite scenes from each one.

Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is about the son of an infamous gangster who spends his last summer before "adult life" roaming around with two "free-spirited" pals. The year is 1983, and young Art Bechstein (Jon Foster) is at a serious crossroads. Completely opposed to his father's lifestyle, Art (reluctantly) plans to become a stockbroker in a few months' time -- but that means a few open months in which he can A) work at a chintzy discount book store, B) cast lovesick glances towards his new friend Jane (Sienna Miller), and C) become close pals with a bisexual street thug called Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard). Oh, and D) nail his slightly unhinged boss (Mena Suvari).

It does strike me a little funny that after watching the trailer for the documentary Chicago 10, it managed to make me just a little less interested in watching the flick (not the best start for a movie trailer, IMO). Written and directed by Brett Morgan, the doc is a re-enactment of the infamous trial of the Chicago Seven in 1969. For those of you out there who aren't up on your counter-culture history: In 1968, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale organized a large scale protest at the 1968 Democratic convention. After an unfair conviction of inciting violence and numerous appeals, five of the eight members finally had their convictions overturned and were able to walk away free men in 1972.

This is Morgan's second animated documentary, and uses the same style as Morgan's acclaimed Robert Evans flick, The Kid Stays in the Picture. Last November, a NYT piece had profiled the doc as a brand new approach to making documentary films. Instead of a bunch of talking heads, Morgan decided to use actual court transcripts to re-enact the trial with actors providing the voices on the infamous seven (well, eight if you count Seale, and in my opinion you really should). The cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Hank Azaria and Nick Nolte. Initial buzz surrounding the film was good, and there was even talk of a bidding war for the property. But after reading James' review back in January, as well as getting my first good look at the motion capture, I have to admit my enthusiasm has been dulled ever so slightly. Luckily, I'm a big enough documentary nerd that I can probably overlook it. Chicago 10 is scheduled for release in February.

You know you must like an actor when you are willing to sit through a film you are convinced you have already seen dozens of times before. The new website for the crime drama Pride and Glory has launched with fancy new photos and a theatrical trailer. Pride was co-written by Joe Carnahan and director Gavin O' Connor, and was inspired by O'Connor's childhood growing up in a home full of policeman. O'Connor was quoted as saying, "My father was a New York City detective, and I grew up in that world. It's a celebration of honest cops, which was everything my father was about. Though it is fictional, it is an homage to my father". New Line president Toby Emmerich had reportedly been a big fan of the script and made sure that the project found a home at New Line.

The film focuses on a family who are at the center of a police corruption scandal that could ruin not only their careers, but tear apart the entire family. Norton stars as a good cop up against crooked cops and the "Blue Code of Silence" when he is put in charge of solving the murder of four police officers. Joining Norton are Colin Farrell as the the black sheep of the family (as to be expected) with Jon Voight stepping in as the patriarch. The part had originally gone to Nick Nolte, but due to a knee-injury he had to be replaced by Voight. Pride and Glory will hit theaters on March 14th, 2008.

[via Latino Review]

There's this fantastical film made a few years ago called Neverwas that, aptly, almost never was. While it had an all-star cast, the movie never saw the light of day, save a screening at TIFF and some releases outside of North America. After a few years in the never-ether, the film is finally getting an absolutely bare-bones release on DVD. The directorial debut of Joshua Michael Stern, who previously penned a little-known thriller called Skeletons, Neverwas is the next generation of Hook. If you think back to 1991, you might remember when Robin Williams was a grown-up Peter Pan, heading back to Neverland. Although the green-tighted hero was played by an adult, Hook was definitely a clear-cut family film. Neverwas, on the other hand, has its grown-up hero, but it is not the children's film that it seems to be.

Aaron Eckhart plays Zach Riley, an up-and-coming psychiatrist who is adamant to take a job at a mental institution, and convinces the head doctor (William Hurt) to hire him. One of his patients is Gabriel Finch (Ian McKellen), a strange old man who is convinced that Zach is Zachary Small, a children's book hero who will help him save his kingdom of Neverwas. He is partially right -- Zach's father was the book's writer, T.L. Pierson (Nick Nolte), and he used his son as the model for the heroic character. Pierson is actually the reason for Zach's interest in the hospital. The writer suffered from depression, and killed himself while Zach was still a boy. Years later, Zach is haunted by his memories of his father, surely amplified by the reminders around him, and the fact that Pierson spent time in the same institution.

What's a Ben Stiller movie without Owen Wilson? They've been working together together on and off -- though it seems more like continuously on -- since The Cable Guy. It is no surprise, then, that Wilson has just signed up for Stiller's Tropic Thunder. This is Stiller's fourth feature as director, and with the exception of his debut, Reality Bites, he has so far found a role for his friend in all of them (he also directed Wilson in the TV pilot for Heat Vision and Jack). It isn't clear what kind of role Wilson will have this time, but I'm guessing he will play an actor working on the movie-within-the-movie. So far, these actors, who end up on a war film shoot gone to hell, include Robert Downey Jr. as an Oscar-winning star, Jay Baruchel as an unknown, Jack Black as a drug addicted comic actor, and Stiller himself, who may be a pumped up action star (as per Erik's educated guess). Then, as a non-actor, Tom Cruise is rumored to be making a cameo as a studio tyrant.

Also joining the cast now is Nick Nolte. His part is also unspecified, but he clearly must be some actor playing a lieutenant colonel or something -- basically playing himself playing his part in The Thin Red Line. Nolte is thankfully getting a lot of work these days, despite his infamous personal problems, but this is a welcome chance for the 48 Hrs. actor to return to comedy. Sure, he's not the funniest man in the world, but I think he's a good cranky straight man (in addition to the two 48 Hrs. movies, he's the only good thing about Three Fugitives), and he can even occasionally be the comic, too (Down and Out in Beverly Hills). Unfortunately he really missed the funny boat by working with director Alan Rudolph in Breakfast of Champions and Trixie (he has done great dramatic work for the director), and so it seems easier to just cast him in dramas. Although Nolte probably won't have the opportunity to get a lot of laughs in Tropic Thunder, I at least applaud Stiller for adding him to the ensemble of funnymen.