Paul Weitz Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant has the unfortunate fate of arriving at the height of the vampire resurgence. I fear a lot of potential movie goers will dismiss it as part of the wave, as a major studio (Universal) trying to rush an adaptation of a very popular young-adult book franchise in an attempt to capitalize on the Twilight demographic. And while I understand that sentiment, in this particular case it's a shame, because Paul Weitz' film stands tall whether it was made inside or outside this temporary rise in the vamp popularity. Remove the cynical marketing climate and The Vampire's Assistant is a charming, imaginative, and most importantly, very entertaining film for children, teens and adults alike.

Having not read any of the 12 books comprising author Darren Shan's young-adult Cirque Du Freak saga, I can't attest as to how faithful an adaptation it is, but the macabre world About a Boy director Paul Weitz has brought to life on film feels like the kind of mysterious wonderland I could have easily lost myself in as a child. That's not to say that The Vampire's Assistant is a children's film, far from it, but it's the kind of film that's full of content that's simultaneously adult and juvenile, the breed of subtle scripting that provides eye candy for teenagers and nostalgic mind candy for adults.

Cinematical has just received the dark new poster for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, an adaptation of a young adult book series by Darren Shan. The film version stars John C. Reilly as a vampire -- which is enough to sell me on the movie right there!

But, for those who must know more, the official synopsis says in part that the movie is "a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares." Chris Massoglia plays a 16-year-old boy who becomes the assistant of a vampire named Larten Crepsley (Reilly). Among the assistant's new friends are Salma Hayek as a bearded lady (?!) and Ken Watanabe as a "gigantic barker." Josh Hutcherson also stars.

The film takes its title from the second installment in the 12-book series, The Saga of Darren Shan, but the script combines elements from the first three books. Directed by Paul Weitz (In Good Company, American Dreamz), look for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant in theaters on October 23, just in time for Halloween.

Have a look at the full-sized poster in the gallery below. The complete synopsis is available after the jump. And keep an eye out for the trailer, which will debut on Moviefone tomorrow.

It's almost official. In February, Paul Weitz was one of the names circling the second Meet the Parents sequel, Little Fockers. And now the rest of the possibilities seem to have fallen by the wayside, because Variety reports that Weitz is now in talks to direct the comedy. No Pete Segal. No Wain. No Reed. The American Pie and About a Boy man wants the Fockers, and I think he's under ill advisement.

All I can think to ask is why? It's like there's this large "why?!" bubble following this project. First it was why anyone would want to see the Focker offspring. I previously asked whether any of you wanted to see the little Fockers, and I think ICON! said it best: "Putting out a lit cigar on my balls would be more enjoyable and entertaining than ANOTHER installment of lame rehashed nipple and Focker jokes."

And now, why on Earth would Weitz want to do this? He's not some king of the critical world, but he's made some rather good films and has a roster that should earn him work better than a dreaded second sequel. Variety says that he'll jump from Fockers to Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, and I think maybe the "Suck City" part should be taken off project #2 and moved over to #1.

John C. Reilly and Salma Hayek starring in a Paul Weitz semi-horror flick / adaptation of a best-selling kids book? Sounds interesting enough to me. It'll be the first movie for Ms. Hayek since she took some time off to have a baby, and she'll be co-starring opposite the Dewey Cox star in Universal's Cirque du Freak. (Check out Monika's previous report right here.)

The film, which is based on a popular 12-book series by Darren Shan, begins production this month. Variety offers us non-readers a handy little synopsis: "Reilly will play a vampire who drafts a 14-year-old to serve as his assistant. The youth is turned into a half-vampire and becomes the catalyst in a battle between vampires and the rival Vampanese. Hayek will play Madame Truska, the bearded lady." According to the IMDB, the adaptation was written by screenwriter Brian Helgeland, whom you'll no doubt remember from L.A. Confidential, Mystic River and (of course) 976-EVIL.

Mr. Weitz's most recent film was American Dreamz, but I choose to focus more on his good movies. Like the first American Pie, the fantastic About a Boy, and the seriously underrated In Good Company.

For a while, "Freak Show" meant a gathering that showcased anyone who was a bit different. Perhaps they had much excess hair, or were particularly tiny or tall. Maybe they were twins who were bonded by more than sibling love, or dudes missing appendages. But times have changed, and that's not really acceptable anymore. So, if you want to delight in all things freak, you've got to be able to stomach seeing dudes nail things into their body, or, in the case of cinema, see a Freak Show that's more fantastical than "freakish."

The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Cal Naughton Jr., aka John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson (Bridge to Terabithia), and Chris Kelly (Boys Life) are in final negotiations to star in Cirque du Freak -- a kidlit adaptation that's being put together by Universal. Based on a series written by Darren Shan, the story focuses on best friends (Hutcherson and Kelly) "who visit an illegal freak show, where an encounter with a vampire and a giant deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices that result in vampire servitude and vampirism itself." (The show also has a really bitey werewolf.) Believe it or not, Reilly will play "Larten Crepsley, the centuries-old vampire and owner of Madame Octa, the spider." This crazy, yet weirdly appealing, story is the brainchild of About a Boy writer/director Paul Weitz, who wrote the script and will direct it when production starts in February. So, what do you think? Are you ready to see Reilly get his bite on?

So it would seem that the Weitz brothers have a thing for sweeping fantasy epics. Empire online reports that Chris and Paul Weitz have signed to adapt the fantasy series Elric of Melniboné written by Michael Moorcock. The novels (and there are over a dozen of them) center on an albino emperor who is forever cursed with a sword called Stormbringer that is the source of his supernatural powers, but unfortunately the sword also sucks life force leaving Elric weak and sickly. That hardly sounds like the ideal protagonist for a big budget Hollywood film, but a lot could happen in the re-write process. The Weitz's sound like big fans of the books, saying "Of the great classic fantasy series, it is the one that hasn't been done yet".

Chris Weitz (with brother Paul producing) has just finished work on the adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig; he served as both co-writer and director. Already another film is in the works from the series (there are three Compass-related books in total), but that film will be working from a Hossein Amini script. Chris has also signed on to adapt the big-screen version of Nick Flynn's brutally funny memoir Another Bullsh*t Night in Suck City for Fox. The Elric Saga is a tricky story to tackle in one film, and the project has yet to attach a director, but Paul is already hinting at a little nepotism, saying, "I'd really like it if my brother directed them".

Is that not the greatest title you've ever seen in your entire life? Man, if that doesn't sum up most of my teenage years, I don't know what does -- it's a fact, no matter where you live or how cool the city is, there will forever be nothing to do. Or, at least, you and your clan of friends will see it that way. Apart from describing the way I felt about most of my childhood, Another Bullsh*t Night in Suck City is also a memoir written by Nick Flynn, which was adapted for the big screen by none other than American Pie man himself, Paul Weitz.

Now, almost two years after we first reported on the deal, Weitz's Suck City has found its way to Fox 2000 after originally being set up at Sony Pictures, then thrown into turnaround. Based on the title alone, you probably expect the memoir and the movie to be about a bunch of kids, cruising the streets with nothing better to do than complain about how much their town sucks the big one. You'd think that, right? However, the story follows the relationship between a case worker for the homeless and his brilliant self-destructive father. Oh. Okay. Weitz also plans to direct the pic ... and that's the best part of this whole thing.

See, I'm a big Weitz Brothers fan (save for American Dreamz, but we won't mention that one). Paul Weitz is responsible for writing and directing (along with his brother Chris) the adaptation of one of Nick Hornby's best novels, About a Boy. Heck, they rock it as a team, as well as solo -- do I need to mention the little gem that was In Good Company (written and directed by Paul)? And Chris is currently wrapping up his own epic solo effort, The Golden Compass. Unlike the Farrelly Bros., who made a name for themselves in comedy and refuse to venture off that course, the Weitz Bros. travel all over the map and make certain to mix it up enough so that you feel good about what you just watched while departing the theater. Together or alone, these boys got the goods ... and I dare you to call bullsh*t on that.

Yes, it happened again -- a big horror film wasn't screened for critics. Is anyone surprised? I think I'm going to start mentioning this phenomenon only when studios have the balls to screen something they think critics might not dig, because at this point, that's much more notable than another film being hidden. American Dreamz and The Sentinel were offered to critics, and their conclusions, in sum, are that Tony Yalda is a genius (Paul Weitz not so much), and that The Sentinel is either thrilling and riveting or it's not. Details and copious links follow.

• American Dreamz: Like Kim, everyone and her brother sets some space aside in their reviews to praise Tony Yalda, who plays Omer-the-terrorist's queeny cousin. Apart from him, though, few have much good to say about the film, though a handful of critics find the chaos enjoyable, despite its lack of satirical teeth.

• The Sentinel: Reviews of this one are pretty mixed, and both sides are equally passionate. Some feel it's a well-constructed, tense thriller, while others (some of whom are unable to resist a 24 comparison), find it boring and absurd. Special credit this week goes to Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe, who wonders if Kiefer Sutherland can do anything other than save the world, asking "Can he dance? Does he juggle?" (Personally, I'm troubled by the fact that no major reviewers bother to mention that the guy playing the president was Sledge Hammer. Where the hell were these people in the 1980s?!)

If you're looking for a few words on the absent Silent Hill, our own Scott Weinberg shelled out his hard-earned cash to see it, and rushed home to write a review. Essentially, if you're a horror nerd like Scott, you'll like it -- there's not much substance, but it's creepy and visually stunning.

The last movie I saw at SXSW was also the most commercial film I saw, the film that will likely get the widest release: American Dreamz, which was written and directed by Paul Weitz. Weitz, who attended the festival's closing-night screening with actors Dennis Quaid and Sam Golzari, also wrote and directed In Good Company (which also starred Quaid) and co-directed American Pie and About a Boy. American Dreamz is Weitz's first foray into political comedy. I think he should have stuck with teenage sex comedies and Nick Hornby adaptations.

After the screening, Weitz explained that he got the idea for the film after watching TV footage of American Idol at the same time as the war in Iraq. I feel that American Idol does not mix well with U.S. foreign politics. It's like that time in college when I decided to mix orange juice and Jack Daniels. Admittedly, that was all we had left at the party and my judgment was also rather impaired, excuses that won't work nearly as well for the American Dreamz filmmakers. Let's hope they don't suffer from their unfortunate mix the same way I did with mine.

American Dreamz focuses on several related stories. Hugh Grant plays Tweedy, the Simon Cowell-esque producer/host of the Idol-esque show American Dreamz. He decides to boost ratings by finding some novelty contestants: one Jewish, one Middle Eastern. Omer (Sam Golzari), the Middle Eastern contestant turns out to be—you'll never believe this—a former terrorist. Meanwhile, WASP-y contestant Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore) schemes to win by exploiting her relationship with a veteran of the Iraqi war (Chris Klein).

My brother emailed me last weekend asking what I knew about Paul Weitz's American Dreamz, the new satire from the brilliant/idiotic (depending on your point of view on teen sex comedies) mind that brought us American Pie. Because I'm a helpful sister, I went to the IMDB and read him the summary - it turns out that, were he still living in LA (he's not), he could have gone to an advance screening of the thing. Basically, he just wanted to know what he'd missed by moving to the Midwest; based on the screening reports just posted at AICN, the answer is "not much."

Though it's sometimes a challenge to see the movie through the hyperbole in AICN's fan reports, one thing comes through clearly here: the movie is a bit of a mess. At best the narrative is poorly constructed ("very jumpy," if you will); at worst it's "90 minutes of 'Bush is dumb, American Idol is dumb,' man-handled by a writer incapable of reconciling the two concepts." Ouch. But hey, at least Dennis Quaid is good! Go read for yourselves, if you're curious about the film. Two warnings, though: one of the reviews is filled with annoying, over-the-top profanity, and both are heavily spoiler-laden.

Crappy or not, American Dreamz is released in the US on April 21.