Prior to her film's premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, writer-director Tracey Hecht found time to answer a few questions about her film and her process for Cinematical. Life in Flight stars Patrick Wilson as a successful architect with the "perfect family" who, after a chance encounter with a young urban designer (Lynn Collins), begins to second guess his entire life. We published our review of Life in Flight this morning, where Joel had the following to say regarding Hecht's direction: "Hecht does a nice job invoking a sense of place in Life in Flight; she must know New York well, because she shows or mentions aspects of it that most visitors just never see, like the birds that fly out over the BQE. The visuals suggest a filmmaker who not only is in love with New York, but insisted on making sure there was no doubt that the film was made there instead of somewhere in Toronto."

Cinematical: You previously said you wanted to make a film about fear. Seeing as this is your feature debut as a director, I imagine making this film brought about a certain fear from within you?

Tracey Hecht: Yes, definitely. But I'm less afraid when I'm doing something than when I'm waiting to do it. So I think the leading up to making the movie was worse for me. Once I was actually in there, I really had a amazing time.

Cinematical: What do you think people are most afraid of these days?

TH: Oh, wow, I have no idea. I imagine that list is long. But I think the trick is to really find and know what it is inside of you that makes you afraid, and not let yourself just project your fears out onto other things.

Life in Flight should prove to any aspiring screenwriter that you don't necessarily have to have an original story in order to get a screenplay made. In the film, which debuted at Tribeca on Sunday, first-time writer / director Tracey Hecht tells the tale of a man who's supposedly living the good life, but it's not the one he wants. And it takes meeting a young, vivacious woman for him to fully realize it.

Heard that story before? Sure you have, probably dozens of times. You've seen it in goofy romantic comedies from The Seven-Year Itch to Joe Versus the Volcano as well as "indie" dramas like Garden State. But good writing and acting always trumps originality of story, and Life in Flight has both, though there's still room for improvement.

You can -- or at least you will. Two action figures from the upcoming Watchmen movie have debuted over at Entertainment Weekly. This is sure to fuel the "Zack Snyder is screwing it up!" flames because there's no paunch on Nite Owl. He's boasting a lean and muscular frame, and a very shiny costume. However, I am willing to take a wait and see approach -- maybe this is a very young and fit Nite Owl, a figure from his glory days. Hmm. They did successfully sculpt Patrick Wilson's jaw, though.

Two additional figures are going to be unveiled at the New York ComicCon on April 18th -- I'm betting Oxymandias (especially since he had his own line of action figures in the book) and the Comedian, but the temptation for a near-nude Laurie may prove more tempting to sculpt. They don't go on sale until January 2009, but they will market for the very reasonable price of $14.99. I'm going to hold out for the Black Freighter playset -- I just hope it comes complete with sharks.

Watchmen will be released on March 6th, 2009.

If you'll permit me to embarrass myself for a moment: I'm the guy who liked Neil LaBute's redo of The Wicker Man. Well, maybe I'm not the only one -- if I recall correctly, Weinberg didn't hate it either. But I'm pretty sure that's it. Any movie where Nicolas Cage dropkicks Leelee Sobieski and then dons a bear suit for an extended stretch is okay by me, but most people seemed to think that LaBute was out of his element in the supernatural thriller genre. In that case, his next project finds him back in his wheelhouse: generating suspense by manipulating and exaggerating everyday social tensions. Lakeview Terrace involves an interracial couple (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) who find an enemy in their new next-door neighbor (Samuel L. Jackson), an LAPD cop who disapproves of their relationship and becomes determined to drive them away.

A trailer for Lakeview Terrace has surfaced on the film's official website, and the movie looks like squirmy, uncomfortable fun -- the kind of material LaBute is most comfortable with. In addition to the racial angle, it looks like the film is going to explore another touchy subject: the near-omnipotence that comes with a police uniform. It takes some guts to make a cop the bad guy without also providing a virtuous foil (e.g. Ethan Hawke offsetting Denzel Washington in Training Day). But if anyone can pull it off, it's Neil LaBute.

[via Comingsoon.net]

Look to the right. There's nothing quite like a dog's behind and a pair of hanging testicles -- is there? If you're wondering what kind of book, one that's getting turned into a film, would put that sort of pic on the cover, read on. Life is a Strange Place is the story of a womanizer called Barry Munday. One day, he gets caught in the act with a teenager, and her father lays the smackdown on the lady chaser -- so much so that the guy wakes up in the hospital and finds out that his balls had to be snipped off. However, just as he realizes that he's unhappy with his life and can never have kids, he's conveniently named in a paternity suit. "Barry is elated at the second chance at fatherhood. Now if he can just avoid his crazy ex-girlfriend, her rabid dog, a mob of angry gay midgets, and his mother until the baby is born..."

Strange, eh? Even more surprising, Variety reports that Patrick Wilson will play Barry Munday in a film adaptation of the same name. After stuff like Hard Candy, Little Children, Evening, and his upcoming stint as Nite Owl in Watchmen, this is a bit of a change for the actor. I guess he wanted to perk up his professional life.

I'm wondering if they may have changed things up a little for the screen -- it's being touted as a romantic comedy, yet descriptions suggest that the object of his affection is just his soon-to-pop-out kid. Or, he falls for the kid's mom, who is described as an unattractive woman he doesn't remember sleeping with. Charming. Whatever the case, it certainly sounds interesting. Chris D'Arienzo will direct the film this April in Los Angeles.

On November 20, for the first time ever, a movie will be exclusively distributed via iTunes. Yes, we already heard about this briefly when our own Kevin Kelly talked with Edward Burns at ComicCon. But at the time, Burns had said he would be given a trial run, in which his latest film, Purple Violets, would be available on iTunes for four weeks beginning on October 9. That date has come and gone, and now the New York Times has revealed that the film will actually get a full, exclusive release on November 20. That means you won't be able to see it in theaters, or on DVD, or on Cable. Yet, anyway. Personally, I'm a bit shocked the idea didn't happen sooner. There's tons and tons of indie films out there that can't get good distro. Going with iTunes sounds like a great opportunity to get notice. Plus, with iTunes still only offering less than 1000 movies, and still unable to get titles from all the studios, the service would do well to increase its library with exclusives like this. The idea certainly worked for companies like Netflix, which started exclusive distribution via its Red Envelope Entertainment moniker. Maybe one day, like Red Envelope, iTunes could even produce its own movies.

The Times goes into detail about iTunes distribution, mentioning the strategy of putting Wes Anderson's Hotel Chevalier up for free download, which sparked extra interest in The Darjeeling Limited. It also points out the benefit of having short films on iTunes in general, not just for well-knowns like Anderson. The move can affect DVD rentals, though, according to Burns, who has had difficulty securing video distribution for Purple Violets now that it will be available on iTunes. The movie, which stars Burns, Debra Messing, Patrick Wilson and Selma Blair, premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival, where Eric called it Burns' "best film since The Brothers McMullen ... a more mature film than anything Burns has done in the past."

Look, I love these "Hey, I'm on the set and everything is going super awesome" reports from actors, directors and what have you, but I'm not sure what we're supposed to do with this latest one from Zack Snyder on the set of Watchmen. When I first spotted the video, on a site that promoted it as "Zack Snyder Offers a Watchmen Update!!!," I thought -- cool -- he's going to be giving us something we haven't seen before. Why else would they use three exclamation points? So then I clicked over to the video, it started playing and Snyder -- all unshaven and disheveled, as if he'd been up for 48 hours straight -- is standing in front of a door. "Oooh, is he going to open the door and introduce someone in costume?" No. He's not.

Here's what I took away from the video, which you can feel free to check out for yourself: Snyder is stoked to be directing the film, he's "excited," things are "amazing," it's been super "fun," lots of "fun," the cast have been "really cool," and he's promised more stuff in the future. Oooh, Zack, will you be standing in front of a window next time? I know, I'm being a bit of a loser about it, but I just really wish these videos would do more to get me excited about the film. Give us something! The guy looks tired as all hell, he just wrapped the first week of filming -- help him out a bit, give him a prop. All that being said, I am pretty excited about the film as I truly believe it will be unlike any of the superhero-themed flicks we've seen over the past few years. I mean, heck, it's set in a gritty and alternate 1985 -- hopefully that means Snyder will throw a little Whitesnake on the soundtrack. Little Def Leppard, maybe. See, that's what this video needed -- a Pour Some Sugar on Me intro, followed by Snyder and Patrick Wilson (who plays the Nite Owl) rocking out on set. Hell yeah! Oh well, maybe next time. Watchmen is due out in theaters on March 6, 2009.

A weepie examination of female and sexual identity whose worth is roughly equal to that of a used Kleenex, Evening is a schmaltzy nostalgic fusion of clichéd melodrama and carpe-diem lessons about regret, love and courage. Based on Susan Minot's novel from a screenplay by the author and The Hours scribe Michael Cunningham, director Lajos Koltai's (Fateless) feature is a golden-hued eye-roller, full of gorgeous seaside locales, beautiful people, and oh-so-profound issues of life and death, not a one believable thanks to Koltai's insistent sappiness and a story that's familiar, goofy and unbearably corny. A bifurcated affair, Evening begins at the bedside vigil of dying Ann (Vanessa Redgrave), where her two daughters Constance (Natasha Richardson) and Nina (Toni Collette) argue over their differing life paths -- Constance is a suburban wife and mom of two, Nina is an aimless mess unable to commit to the boyfriend with whom she's expecting a child -- while listening to mom enigmatically prattle on about a man named Harris.

Commence flashbacks and the piano-and-flute score, because this soggy mystery is the film's meat-and-potatoes, as Minot's tale goes on to detail the momentous romance between young Ann (Claire Danes) and Dr. Harris (Patrick Wilson) at the 1950s Newport wedding of Ann's best friend Lila Wittenborn (Mamie Gummer, who plays -- and in real life is -- the daughter of Meryl Streep). A Greenwich Village bohemian who pays her way singing in skuzzy nightclubs while dreaming of stardom, Ann arrives at Lila's cliffside mansion with Lila's brother Buddy (Hugh Dancy), a cheery fellow who drowns feelings of self-loathing and inadequacy about his writing talents (he dreams of being the next Hemingway) with alcohol. Koltai shoots this swanky setting like he's working on the latest J. Crew catalog spread, his overly sentimental images of the outstretched twilight ocean nicely meshing with dying Ann's faux-wondrous hallucinations about fireflies, butterflies, and a night nurse dressed in a sparkly evening gown. Every moment and aspect of Evening is suffocatingly twee and self-satisfied -- except, that is, for those brief occasions when it's just pitifully conventional.

It seems pretty definite to me: Patrick Wilson is playing Nite Owl (aka Dan Dreiberg) in Watchmen. In an interview with Coming Soon.net/Superhero Hype!, Wilson does everything but actually confirm the rumors. But he comes pretty darn close. Basically, through his wording of answers and his questions to the interviewer (Max Evry), he insinuates that he's doing the movie but that he's unsure if he's allowed to talk about it -- though he claims he's never been told not to. What he does mention is that the script is phenomenal writing and that the project is really exciting stuff. He also says he should be respectful and wait until everyone is on board and there is an official announcement. So, yeah, he's been cast.

This will be sad news to both John Cusack and his fans, who have been hoping the actor would get the part of Nite Owl. But Wilson isn't a bad choice for the part. And Watchmen loyalists (and Cinematical commenters) are already happy enough that Keanu Reeves apparently turned down the part of Dr. Manhattan. We still have to see if the Jude Law rumor is also true (director Zack Snyder nearly confirmed him and Reeves, but now that Reeves is out, who knows?), and we still await some word on the rest of the characters' casting. We are getting some more rumors, though. According to AICN's 'Moriarty', the new front-runner for Dr. Manhattan is Jason Patric. According to actor Paddy Considine (in the forum part of his site), the part of Rorschach has gone to Jackie Earle Haley. And somewhere, while writing about these other two rumors, film ick has gotten the idea that Thomas Jane will be playing The Comedian. So when are we going to hear something about the part of Laurie (aka Silk Spectre 2)?

Chances are, if you watch any type of indie films, or The Phantom of the Opera, you've probably caught Patrick Wilson. In the last few years, he's been the creep about to get fed some Hard Candy by Ellen Page, Jennifer Connelly's husband in Little Children and he also had a part in Running with Scissors. While he's got the indie scene covered, he hasn't really broke through to the mainstream, but I'm thinking this might help -- he's signed onto the Neil LaBute thriller Lakeview Terrace.

Cinematical has followed the development of this film for a while now. As of March, we had Samuel L. Jackson starring as a racist LAPD officer who has got it in his mind that he has to do anything and everything to remove the interracial couple who live next door. LaBute was in talks to direct (and has since signed) and Ashton Kutcher was being considered for the role of Kerry Washington's husband, forming the couple being harassed. It looks like someone came to their senses (who would want to tread similar ground to Guess Who?). Mr. Demi Moore is gone and Patrick Wilson is taking over. I'd say this is a pretty solid move for the film, and its cred has since jumped up a few levels.

The film starts shooting on Monday. I just wish it was shooting in Toronto. LA (I presume) gets this, and what's the big film shooting in the midst of the Short Film Fest theaters? American Pie sequel 38945793. If that's something that interests you, I walked by the production today. I can tell ya that there are horses and hay as part of their college shenanigans, and if you want to go snoop, they're filming in/near the frat houses north of the University of Toronto. Sigh. It would've been much cooler to walk by some classic Jackson ranting.

I haven't seen any commenter on Cinematical wishing for John Cusack to appear in Watchmen, but apparently there are tons of fans elsewhere declaring that the actor would make a great Nite Owl. I can definitely see it, as well. Unfortunately, Zack Snyder, who is directing the graphic novel adaptation for Warner Bros., has pretty much confirmed the rumor that Patrick Wilson will be cast in the role (as well as the rumors about Keanu Reeves and Jude Law being offered significant parts, too). Well, if Snyder changes his mind -- or if the rumors aren't actually true -- then Cusack would be interested in donning the goggles and cape. Cusack told MTV that if the fans want him and the director wants him, then he's in.

In the interview, Cusack mentions that he loves the comic and also mentioned Rorschach as another character he could play (would he dye his hair red?). He humorously states that Warners might rather want Ashton Kutcher, though, because Cusack claims this is the kind of world he lives in. What a sad world to be in where Hollywood is more interested in Kutcher than Cusack! A few years ago, AICN reported that in Revolution Studios' version of Watchmen, Cusack had already been cast as Nite Owl (aka Dan Dreiberg). Of course, that wasn't true at the time, but in this era of great public communication, the fans could potentially make it happen. At least Snyder should think of Cusack for some part -- I haven't seen any Rorschach casting rumors yet -- if not Nite Owl. Even a cameo would make me happy -- how about as one of the lesser-used "masks", or as Hector Godfrey?

Check out the MTV Blog for the great video interview with Cusack. For previous Cinematical coverage of the Watchmen movie, check out the links below:

Zack Snyder Confirms: The Watchmen Will Be His Next Film

Secret 'Watchmen' Image Hidden in '300' Trailer!

Zack Snyder Sets Up 'Sucker Punch,' Says Gerard Butler May Be In 'Watchmen'

Watchmen Gets a Scribe

Yet Another Watchmen Scribe

Watchmen Nabs a Composer

I brought you some casting news last month on Zack Snyder's highly anticipated adaptation of the beloved graphic novel Watchmen. The big news at the time was that Keanu Reeves, Jude Law, and Patrick Wilson had been offered roles in the superhero flick. Reeves was rumored to have been offered the role of Doctor Manhattan, Law was rumored to have been offered Ozymandias, and Wilson was rumored to be playing Nite Owl. (The Reeves choice in particular didn't seem to appeal to the Cinematical commenters!). At the time it was just hearsay, but an interview with Snyder over at MTV.com confirms it. Kinda. Almost. When grilled about the accuracy of those reports, Snyder responded "Um -- you know what? I would say 'No,' but then you'd call me later and go like, 'Dude, what are you doing?' I don't know who's leaking this stuff, but they're good." So make of that what you will, but it's pretty far from a denial.

The other big question has been whether or not Gerard Butler would be involved with the film. "Yeah, we'll find a spot for him," says Snyder. "They'll let him (off the other sets for a while); he's not gonna get out that easy." Shooting on Watchmen starts this September, and Snyder is eagerly anticipating directing the film's opening scene: "At the beginning of the movie there's a character called the Comedian. He gets in a fight with a guy that we don't know who it is, and (the Comedian) gets thrown out a window. That's what I'm working on right now, and it's pretty intense." Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, Watchmen is considered by many to be the finest graphic novel ever made. Directors such as Paul Greengrass and Terry Gilliam have been circling the material for years. Do you think Snyder will do it justice? One last tidbit for you 300 fans -- Snyder briefly mentions a sequel in the article, saying "If Frank (Miller) wrote it, and drew something cool, absolutely."

Last week, I posted about Keanu Reeves' new movie Night Watch. Its title recently changed from The Night Watchman to Night Watch to avoid confusion with Zack Snyder's upcoming superhero movie called Watchmen. I found it odd at the time that the filmmakers aren't concerned about getting mixed up with Night Watch, Nightwatch, or Nightwatch. Believe it or not, this title hopping is about to get even more complicated -- Keanu Reeves has been offered a role in Watchmen! My head hurts. Sources say Reeves has been offered the role of Doctor Manhattan, AKA Dr. Jon Osterman -- the "big blue superbeing" with god-like powers like superhuman strength, telekenesis, the ability to teleport, and clairvoyance. In the immortal words of Reeves himself: "Whoa!"

Jude Law is expected to take on the role of Adrien Veidt, or Ozymandias -- "the smartest man on the planet." Law is a longtime Watchmen fan, and was expected to get the role, although Chris reported a couple months ago on rumors that fellow fan Tom Cruise was interested. Little Children's Patrick Wilson is expected to play Dan Drieberg -- Nite Owl, a hero similar to Batman. Watchmen is a twelve issue graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, and is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the form. It is the only graphic novel to have been featured on Time Magazine's 2005 list of the 100 best English language novels from 1923 to the present. Zack Snyder is directing Watchmen as his follow-up to the smash hit 300. The star of that film, Gerard Butler, has been linked to Watchmen as well, but now that three of the leads seem to be nearly finalized, that may not come to pass. What do you guys think -- are these good choices?There are still a lot of Watchmen roles up for grabs, who would you want to see round out the cast?

I've always been a bit hard on Edward Burns, but only because I think he has potential as a filmmaker. In my opinion, there's no one else out there right now who knows how to capture New York the way Eddie does. The man lives for this city; it is, and will always be, his muse. However, because he always insists upon wearing so many different hats (writer, director, star and sometimes producer) during each of his films, something always suffers. And as I've approached each one, I sort of go in wondering what Eddie will screw up this time. Will it be a poorly-written script? Wooden acting? Bad direction? All of the above? That being said, I'm happy to report that Purple Violets is his best film since The Brothers McMullen (the 1995 Sundance hit that helped launch Eddie's career behind the camera). It's genuine, it's from the heart and -- I can't believe I'm saying this about an Edward Burns film -- it includes terrific performances from well-written female characters.

When I told a friend of mine that I was going to see the new Eddie Burns film Purple Violets, they were immediately turned off -- as if a bad odor had just entered the room. "You mean, Eddie directed a film called Purple Violets? I don't get it, did he have a sex change operation? Is he now a woman? What's up with that girly title?" For those that love Eddie for his take on masculine Irish-American life in the blue-collar suburbs of New York, Purple Violets might not go down as smoothly as that pint of Coors Light. Yet, the beauty of this film lies in its title. Purple and violet are often confused as being the same color, but they're not. It's almost like meeting someone with whom you were friends with 12 years ago, and trying to re-establish the same type of relationship you had with them back then. However, they've changed, you've changed and while on the surface you both kind of look the same, inside you're both very different people. Thus is the premise for Purple Violets: Four old friends reunite after 12 years apart, while attempting to heal old wounds and ignite new memories.

I haven't yet read Tom Perrotta's Little Children, the book writer/director Todd Field and Perrotta adapted together into the film of the same name. It is on my reading list -- I generally like to read the book a film has been adapted from, especially if I really liked the film, which is certainly the case with Little Children. When Field introduced the film at Telluride, he noted that when he and Perrotta set out to adapt the book, they weren't looking to just cut-and-paste the book into a film, but rather to create something entirely new based on the book as source material.

Over at 10 Zen Monkeys, Destiny has an interesting piece up on some bits from the book -- some sexy, some just fairly intense -- that were omitted from the screenplay, and questions whether the film would have been better with them in it. The post has a lot of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the film, you might want to hold off reading it until you get a chance to catch it. If you have seen the film, though, it's interesting to read and to imagine what the film might have looked like with these scenes in it.

Little Children was nommed for three Academy Awards, including one for adapted screenplay, and went home empty-handed. Why do you think that happened? Was the competition too tough? The film and the characters too dark and unlikable? Personally, I would have liked to see Jackie Earle Haley take Best Supporting Actor -- it's not easy to imbue an unrepentant pedophile with a sense of humanity and make the audience feel empathy for him, but Haley (along with Phyllis Somerville, who turned in a deeply moving performance as his mother) managed to accomplish that feat.