I am, by no means, a big fan of medieval themes, although a movie here and there, or an occasional trip to a Renaissance Faire is fun. But man, Ironclad is sounding awesome. Variety reports that the film is the first project for the newly formed Mythic International Entertainment, and will be directed by Jonathan English.

Why is this sounding so awesome? The cast. Already signed to the $30 million feature is Richard Attenborough, Pete Postlethwaite, Angus Macfayden, and Colm Meaney. Meanwhile, James Purefoy and Paul Giamatti are in talks to join the production as well. It's a historical feature full of talented testosterone!

Set in 13th century England, the film will focus on "a small band of knights who defended Rochester Castle against the tyrant King John." There's no mention of who the signed leads are playing (presumably knights), but if James and Paul sign on, Purefoy will play the lead night, and Giamatti will be King John.

It sounds great to me! After John Adams, I've been on a total Giamatti kick, and along with actors like Attenborough and Postlethwaite, this could be one hell of a great action film.

What do you think?

When news of The Last Station first hit all the way back in 2006, it sounded pretty darned irresistible -- Anthony Hopkins as Leo Tolstoy, Meryl Streep as his wife Sofia, and Paul Giamatti as Tolstoy's supporter, Chertkov. Now, as much as I enjoy a good performance by Hopkins and Streep, I'm happy to say that there's new casting for the film, that's finally heading towards production, and still has Giamatti attached.

Variety reports that Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren have now signed on to star. Anthony is great and all, but he's no Plummer. Based on Jay Parini's novel from 1990, the film will follow the final year of the famous writer's life -- when his wife's extravagant demands clash with his "philosophy of poverty," and he flees to the house of a station-master for some peace as he dies.

So far, there are only a few actors officially attached to Oliver Stone's W., the epic biopic about our current commander-in-chief. Josh Brolin was cast as President George W. Bush back in January, then recently Elizabeth Banks was chosen as his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, and last week James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn were locked into the roles of former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, respectively. Unofficial casting bites, though, include a lot of other big name actors. Jeffrey Wright is reportedly in negotiations to play Colin Powell, Tommy Lee Jones is supposedly being sought for Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Duvall has been rumored to be the choice for Vice President Dick Cheney and now both Paul Giamatti and Toby Jones are being named as potentials for the part of Karl Rove (who Giamatti may have already channeled for his character in Shoot 'Em Up).

There's all sorts of re-teaming going on for the upcoming flick Duplicity. First it was re-joining Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, who starred together in Closer. (And I can only hope that her role will be more like that, and less like the more popular, flamboyant Julia roles.) Now Variety reports that Paul Giamatti is getting in on the action. He was, of course, the thorn in Owen's carrot-eating side in Shoot 'Em Up, and worked with Julia a few times, with a teeny role in My Best Friend's Wedding, and voicing one of the characters in The Ant Bully.

Once you get a little taste of liberty, like he has with the HBO miniseries John Adams, some Duplicity is only natural. Giamatti will play "an industrialist engaged in a fierce game of corporate one-upmanship against a rival titan," who will be played by Tom Wilkinson. Owen and Roberts, meanwhile, are "spies-turned-corporate operatives" who are getting in each other's pants. Topped off with the fact that this film is coming from Tony Gilroy, whose pen is behind flicks from The Cutting Edge and Dolores Claiborne to Michael Clayton and the Bourne series, this is an interesting looking drama.

There is no word in the latest piece on the production schedule, but earlier reports had it slated to begin this month. Meanwhile, in another piece, Variety notes that Rick Worthy has also signed on, in an unspecified supporting role.

I am in no way a history buff. I like to think I know all I needed to know when I graduated fourth grade -- names, faces, places, dates and documents. It's not that I'm not interested in history, it's just that I never found time to dive into everything. I've enjoyed reading up on New York's history (where I'm from) and I'll enjoy the occasional historical flick (until everyone trashes it for not being accurate), but apart from that ... nada. However, lately I've been pulled into the first two installments of HBO's John Adams, starring Paul Giamatti as that legendary pimp (aka the second President of the United States). Should we just give him the Emmy now?

The mini-series is a great conversation piece; my wife and I stayed up late last night watching the second part, then looking up stuff on Wikipedia and discussing the events just prior to the American Revolution. In case you haven't watched it yet, the first two parts (which premiered this past Sunday) cover everything from the Boston Massacre up to the writing of the Declaration of Independence (loved the scene where Adams, Franklin and Jefferson are reading over the Declaration, sharing notes). Additionally, the cast is pretty awesome -- you have Laura Linney (as Abigail Adams, John's wife), Tom Wilkinson (as Benjamin Franklin), Danny Huston (as Samuel Adams), David Morse (as George Washington) and Justin Theroux (as John Hancock).

The only issue I was having was that the series jumps around in years, and you need to pay close attention to dialogue in order to figure out where we are in time. But other than that, I'm absolutely addicted already. It's intense, it's extremely well-acted, it's beautifully shot and it's definitely something you should watch ... if only to learn a thing a two about how we here in the United States came to be.

How about you? Early reactions?

Here's another entry in the Good Sundance Movies with Rotten Titles category: Pretty Bird. The directorial debut of Paul Schneider (he wrote All the Real Girls and acted in movies like Elizabethtown, The Family Stone and The Assassination of Jesse James), Pretty Bird has nothing to do with birds. The closest the film comes to "birds" is the jet-propelled "rocket belt" that causes all sorts of problems for everyone involved. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Curtis Prentiss (Billy Crudup) is one hell of a schmoozer. He may not have many talents -- heck, he's not even all that smart -- but Curtis does have some very strong social skills -- and he seems like he could easily sell ice cubes to an Eskimo if he had to. Prentiss pops in to visit an old college friend named Kenny (the excellent David Hornsby), who is more than happy to invest in Curtis latest venture: a rocket belt. Kenny throws a whole lot of cash Curtis' way, and then the duo decides that they need an actual engineer to get this project "off the ground" -- and to that end they hire an out-of-work (and hot-tempered) rocket expert named Rick Honeycutt (the hilarious Paul Giamatti).

We see guns and violence everywhere. It's on the television, on the big screen, in the papers, in the books. It's always referenced in discussions about sex -- a nipple here, or a butt-cheek there, sexiness almost always gets leashed while violence frolics with its comfy reign. But every once in a while, someone steps in to do something about it. Usually, it's due to the sensitivity of a recent violent act. (Columbine stopped lots of projects, September 11 kept movie ideas at bay for a while, and so on, and so forth.) This is no exception. Variety has reported that posters for Shoot 'Em Up are now under fire themselves.

The ads have been banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority, due to rising gun crime in the country. The ads in question -- the first shows Paul Giamatti chatting on a cell phone while pointing a gun, and is teamed with the text: "just another family man making a living." Nice. The second has Clive Owen leaping through the air with guns in his hands as Giamatti holds a sniper rifle. (I presume it's the one to the right.) It seems that the ASA got 55 complaints from the public that "the ads glamorized and glorified gun crime." Well, that's obvious. "Many complainants believed that the posters were offensive and insensitive toward families directly affected by gun crime, in particular the family of Rhys Jones, the 11-year-old who was killed in a shooting incident in Liverpool in August."

Now, I just wonder what they think of that racy clip that made its way online earlier this year...

Whether or not you're going to enjoy Fred Claus pretty much boils down to one easy question: Do you like Vince Vaughn? If you find Mr. Vaughn's on-screen fast-talking, swagger-walking good-man-but-bad-boy shtick irritating or tedious, Fred Claus will be as enjoyable as a heaping plate of undercooked salmonella-laced turkey. If you find Mr. Vaughn to be a lively, animated figure who livens up pedestrian material with his mere presence on-screen, you'll find Fred Claus a well-intentioned, family-friendly, big-and-shiny holiday comedy.

And while Fred Claus is hardly a one-person show -- it's got a nice, deep back bench of supporting players that keep things moving along in the right key -- it would be hard to deny that star (and producer) Vaughn is the quarterback of the team. Grafting modern family dynamics psychology onto ancient folklore, Fred Claus opens with the youth of the Claus boys, as young Frederick attends the birth of his new brother Nicolas in an unnamed semi-medieval Euro-style thatched hut home. Nicolas is a lovely baby, and grows to be a kind and gentle child; so kind and gentle, in fact, that Fred can't help but look a little shabby in comparison. We then zoom forward an unspecified number of years, as our narrator explains that the attainment of sainthood freezes you and your whole family in time. Santa is ageless; so is Frederick ...

I'm sure Jerry Seinfeld and the other people involved with his latest film had hoped it would BEE number one (oh God, that joke was a cry for help, please call my parents), but the top spot went to Ridley Scott's American Gangster. Seinfeld and company still can't complain too much about second place as $39 million is hardly chump change. Last week's number one movie Saw IV hung in there as well, shearing the limbs off the competition for the second week. Here are the final numbers:

1. American Gangster: $46.3 million.
2. Bee Movie: $39.1 million.
3. Saw IV: $11 million.
4. Dan in Real Life: $8.1 million.
5. 30 Days of Night: $4 million.
5. The Game Plan: $3.9 million

The holiday box office season is truly upon us with high profile releases and Christmas themed movies hitting theaters. Here's what's coming out on Friday.

Fred Claus
What's It All About: Santa's black sheep brother Fred gets bailed out of prison and comes to the North Pole to help make toys for the Christmas holiday. Vince Vaughn stars as Fred and Paul Giamatti plays Santa.
Why It Might Do Well: The teaser trailer that came out last year with footage that probably isn't even in the movie was hilarious. Vaughn seems to be playing a variation on his characters from Wedding Crashers and Old School, and he was pretty funny in those roles, and I'm dying to see what Giamatti can do as Santa. If nothing else, the sheer number of theaters this one is opening in will put it in the number one spot.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I tend to bristle when Christmas displays start showing up in stores right after Halloween, and I'm probably not the only one. Might it just be too early for Christmas cheer?
Number of Theaters: 3,400
Prediction: $34 million

Lions For Lambs
What's It All About: Tom Cruise plays a Senator on the rise who crosses paths with an idealistic professor played by Robert Redford and a reporter played by Meryl Streep. Redford directs this film, which is the first drama for Cruise in six years.
Why It Might Do Well: A cast this stellar will definitely get people's attention.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Rottentomatoes.com is only giving this a 38% rating, with critics using words like "talky" and "clunky."
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $11 million

Ladies and gents, boys and girls (of at least 18 years of age)... it seems like just 13 days ago we were announcing the winner of a trip for two to India for our Darjeeling Limited contest. And we quite enjoyed it. So here we go again: Welcome to another International Edition of Insert Caption. This time we're sending the writer of our favorite caption for the photo below from the new holiday comedy Fred Claus on a trip for four from New York to Finland, courtesy of our friends at Warner Bros. and the Finnish Tourist Board.

As you probably know, the great country of Finland is home to Nokia, the Savonlinna Opera Festival and Renny Harlin. It's also home to Santa Claus (played in the film by Paul Giamatti; Vince Vaughn is his black-sheep brother) and Santa's Village, where the winner of our trip will get to tour during a six-day, five-night stay. While in all likelihood Paul Giamatti will not be there to greet you, Santa will be, and perhaps you'll even be able to whisper a wish into his ear. So give us the funniest, most clever, jolliest caption you've got. The winner will be announced at the launch of our next contest, Wednesday, November 21 @ 4 PM EST Monday, November 26 @ 6 PM EST. Just bookmark this link and come on back. Good luck!

Read the official rules for this contest

Winners from last week's 28 Weeks Later contest:

1. "Oh my God, the dining room window faces New Jersey!"
-- Matthew B.

2. "Catherine knew she would have a small part in this film, but making sure wall didn't fall over wasn't in her job description." -- Joshua B.

3. "Still struggling in her Mime classes, Jill resorts to practicing on a window." -- Anthony G.

See full image and read all captions