PazVega Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Another new (and improved, in my opinion) image of Samuel L. Jackson as The Octopus in The Spirit has been revealed, courtesy of Comic Con Magazine (click image to enlarge). Directed by Frank Miller (Sin City, 300), and based on the graphic novel by Will Eisner, The Spirit follows rookie cop Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) who returns from the dead to fight crime in Central City. Jackson plays The Octopus, The Spirit's main nemesis -- a villain who plans to wipe out all of Central City and kills anyone unlucky enough to see his face. (That said, I guess we're all doomed -- damn you Comic Con magazine for showing us this dude's face!)

Also starring in the flick are Scarlett Johansson (as the Octopus' secretary, Silken Floss), Eva Mendes (as Sand Saref), Jaime King (as Lorelei Rox) and Paz Vega (as Plaster of Paris). Gotta love the names in this one. If I may recommend myself for the sequel; I could play Dynamo Clorox III. Sweet! The first trailer for The Spirit was released during New York Comic Con, and I'm sure the cast and crew will have plenty of goodies for the folks attending San Diego Comic Con in July.

The Spirit arrives in theaters on December 25 (Happy Birthday Jesus, indeed!). Check out our gallery below.



[via Coming Soon]

Although Anthony Minghella has passed away, his name continues to live on, whether it be through New York, I Love You, or being named the "one true godfather" of a new film on the pike -- Triage. Variety reports that the dark drama, which is coming from the hands of Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanovic (writer/director of the Oscar-winning No Man's Land), is getting a cast that boasts the likes of Colin Farrell, Paz Vega, and Christopher Lee.

Farrell will star as a photojournalist who goes on a dangerous assignment with his colleague/best friend, but returns home without him. I imagine he is tight-lipped about what happens, because his girlfriend, played by Vega, "sets about solving the mystery of the disappearance." Either that, or Farrell comes back without a clue. Unfortunately, there's no word on who Lee will play. Since the man is getting close to 90, however, I think it's safe to say that he won't be the colleague. Still, it'll be nice to see Lee in a more realistic setting.

The film is going to be sold at Cannes by Hanway films, and will shoot on-location in Ireland, and in Spanish studios, from this month through June.

It's Monday, and we have a whole week of work ahead of us, as well as these casting bites, courtesy of Variety:

• Paz Vega, the brown-eyed Spanish beauty from Spanglish and Fade to Black, has found herself her next gig. Aside from The Spirit and The Six Wives of Henry Lefay, she will star opposite Simon Baker in the upcoming Not Forgotten -- replacing Jordana Brewster, who left the project. The film is about a couple (played by Baker and Vega) whose daughter is kidnapped, forcing them to face their troubled pasts and consult a Latina soothsayer.
• I have to say, any gig that isn't CSI: Miami, unless you have a weakness for all things seriously silly, is a step up, and Brooke Bloom is making one. Most recently, she popped up as a grocery shopper in The Brothers Solomon (along with other bites actor Johnson), and now she's joining He's Just Not That Into You. If you've followed Cinematical's coverage of the comedy, you'll remember that it's jam-packed with celebs from Jennifer Aniston to Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long to Ben Affleck. The best part for Bloom -- it's not some no-name part, but the role of Aniston's soon-to-be married sister.
  
• She played Myca in The Crow, was put on ice in Angel, got to be a Serpentine in Southland Tales, and now Chinese actress Bai Ling is going to delight in the joys of a Nevada brothel. She has signed on to co-star with Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci in Love Ranch. And it is, most definitely, a ranch of love, or at least, of sex. It sounds pretty goofy, like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, but is actually a drama about a couple who opened the first legal brothel in Nevada.
  
• This last casting bite is my favorite, or at least, it will be as long as Variety has a picture of Growing Pains alum Ashley Johnson up. She's not the star of this gig -- sorry Ashley fans -- it's African-American actress Nicole Randall Johnson -- Mad TV comedian, Louise in License to Wed, and the birthing instructor in The Brothers Solomon. She's now joined the cast of Little Big Men -- the new Ken Marino/David Wain flick starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott. While they act as Big Brothers, Johnson will play some woman named Karen.

Frank Miller productions certainly know how to rack up the attractive women, unless, of course, the flick in question is about a graphic war or something. The Spirit has already got the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Stana Katic, and Sarah Paulson, but it isn't quite bursting at the seams yet. Now Variety reports that Paz Vega (Spanglish) has been added to the cast, along with Sin City alum Jaime King (Goldie). Is there any chance now that men won't be going to the theaters in hordes to see this?

The Spirit is not some cheerleader story, but rather the tale of a rookie cop named Denny Colt who returns from the dead to fight evil in Central City. The latest cast additions are playing what Booklist describes as "two of [Will] Eisner's most dangerous femmes fatale." Vega will play the knife-wielding, "treacherous French nightclub dancer" (and wonderfully named) Plaster of Paris, while King will play Lorelei Rox, "a siren who lured truck drivers to their doom." Paris considers herself "the toast of Monmartre, I stick to my man until death us do part!" While Lorelei, on the other hand, sings "a hypnotic song that mesmerizes her victims." (Go here for Rox and more Spirit characters.) Methinks they'll both be great. How about you? Are these actresses right for the roles, and are you reading for a little Spirit?

It looks like Tim Allen, otherwise known as Henry Lefay, has found his second, and err...umm... fourth wife. (This one got a repeat performance!) The Hollywood Reporter has posted that The Six Wives of Henry Lefay has finally finished its cast with Darma herself -- Jenna Elfman. The movie, which started shooting in Connecticut this week, is about a man (Allen) whose wife and ex-wives fight over his will when they think that he's dead. Elfman's character is the "small-town diva" wife. Since they range in ages from 25 to 55, you can imagine what sorts of jokes the flick will likely use.

Elisha Cuthbert, who will play Allen's daughter, told Cinematical about the feature back in June, and THR followed suit with most of the wives in August. They are: Andie MacDowell, Paz Vega (Spanglish), Kelli Garner (Thumbsucker), and S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order). Considering the fact that there's only five, I don't know why the flick, written and directed by Howard Michael Gould, couldn't be called The Five Wives of Henry Lefay. Is this supposed to be funny and quirky, like that whole "Happyness" title?

Seeing that they make sure to mention that Cuthbert's character doesn't marry, and IMDb lists one other person on the cast -- Eric Christian Olsen (The Last Kiss) -- I'm thinking he's her love interest. You know -- the father is so very dysfunctional (especially if he's only assumed to be dead) that she has to figure out if she can handle a real, long-term relationship. Or, maybe I'm wrong and he's a gardener, a step son, or something else.

In June, Elisha Cuthbert broke the news to our Ryan Stewart that she would be starring in a family comedy called The Six Wives of Henry Lefay with famcom guru, Tim Allen. As she described it: "it's a really fun family film about a girl who has to organize her father's funeral in the midst of dealing with six ex-wives." Now official word is out, plus more details about the production and who exactly is involved. As The Hollywood Reporter describes it, the film, which will be directed by Shrek the Third scribe by Howard Gould, "centers on a man (Allen) whose wife and five ex-wives -- ranging in age from 25 to 55 -- fight over his will when they believe he is dead." So, the guy might not be dead, and will pop up later as a surprise? Perhaps he'll reveal that it's all just a rouse?

We already know that Cuthbert is the daughter, but what of the wives? So far, Andie MacDowell, Paz Vega (Spanglish), Kelli Garner (Thumbsucker) and S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order) are in talks to play spouses. Who will fill in for the final two wives remains to be seen. Perhaps this will be the big comedic comeback for MacDowell, who hasn't found many high-profile roles since her success in the 90's. But forget that for a moment and take a look at that list of wives. They not only tap into a few nationalities and races, but also a spectrum of ages. Garner, who recently played Justin's girl in Thumbsucker, is just two years younger than Cuthbert. Considering all the types of women the film is picking, I won't be surprised if we see a man amongst Allen's wake of wives. We should have more news for you soon, as production begins next month in Connecticut.

Hollywood has a great tradition of song and dance movies like Singin' in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music and more recently with Moulin Rouge! and Chicago. In fact, many of the most popular and successful films of all time are musicals. And now a new film will try to take its place among those great films of the past -- Dare to Love Me, directed by Alfonso Arau of A Walk in the Clouds.

According to production weekly, super-hot Paz Vega, Rodrigo Santoro and singer-turned-actress Shakira will star in the film, scripted by The Notebook writer Jeremy Leven, which tells the story of Argentinian tango legend Carlos Gardel (Santoro) whose involvement in a torrid love triangle leads to tragedy when he's shot, leaving a bullet lodged in his lung for the rest of his life. Making his way to 1930's Paris, Carlos finds the will to sing again and entrances a new legion of fans, including love interests Vega and Shakira, by bringing tango music to Europe's exploding music scene.

This film has a long way to go before it will count as a " musical classic" among the ones mentioned above; that said, Arau has a proven ability to manage this kind of sweeping tragic love story and writer Leven knows this ground exceptionally well too. Combine the skills and experience of these two men together with the charismatic and talented cast Arau has assembled, and this film might just have a chance. Or, we could end up with another Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on our hands -- and believe me, nobody wants that. Shooting on Dare to Love Me is expected to start next spring in Romania.

So, is this film going to be more Moulin Rouge! or Sgt. Pepper?

He (Morgan Freeman) is an actor --- who hasn't acted in a while. He's been ... taking some time? Off the radar? Avoiding gigs that seemed to be beneath him while the floor of other's expectations lowered bit by bit and day by day without him even knowing it? It's not clear to us; it may not be clear to him. He's headed to a grocery store to research a part -- talk to the manager, get a sense of life at an L.A. food mart -- but he's not exactly committed to the project yet. Then again, as he's being driven by a production assistant (Jonah Hill) who isn't sure of the route to the store, it's pretty clear the production isn't necessarily committed to him. ...

Brad Silberling's had one of those perverse, up-and-down careers that Hollywood seems to throw at people occasionally: Not up and down in terms of quality, but rather in terms of resources. Silberling came from TV to direct the big-screen version of Casper; then, he got the hot potato of remaking Wings of Desire for America with City of Angels. From that, it was the personal-and-overlooked drama Moonlight Mile, and then back up to money-maker territory with Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. After that film's miss at the box office (and the challenge of big expectations, off-set turmoil and Jim Carrey), you could pardon Silberling for wanting to take some time and make a slightly smaller-scale film. The good news is that there's no need to; 10 Items or Less may be light, and slight, but it's an unexpectedly winning delight.