Prison Break Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Fans of the Fox show Prison Break will be happy to know that Amaury Nolasco (who played Michael's cell mate Fernando Sucre) is beginning to line up some decent big-screen gigs. Apart from playing a role in Transformers, Nolasco has just signed on to the Keanu Reeves flick Night Watch, so says Variety. No word yet on who he's playing, but he may have snatched up the role that was originally rumored to be in Kevin Federline's hands. Not long ago, we reported that K-Fed had also been tapped to play a "small, but notable" role in the cop thriller, but folks from Fox Searchlight later denied those rumors, suggesting that K-Fed was considered but, ultimately, his schedule wouldn't allow him to take part in the action. His schedule? What the heck does this guy have to do -- shoot a shoe commercial?

Anyway, Night Watch was written and will be directed by David Ayer (Harsh Times), and the film will center on a veteran LAPD cop (Reeves) who is framed by his former mentor (Forest Whitaker) in the murder of a fellow officer. James Ellroy chipped in with a story credit, while the pic also stars Chris Evans, Naomie Harris, Hugh Laurie, Common and Jay Mohr. I'm a big fan of Prison Break (as cheesy and cliched as it is) and dig Nolasco as an actor. Since I lost the final six episodes of last season when I switched to an HD DVR, I'm not sure whether Sucre lived or not. When I left off, he was running through a desert (I think), trying to find the girl that got away. (Man, what some people will do for love.) Not that I want you to tell me what happened; I just felt you should know. Why? Because it gives me more to write. Night Watch is due out in 2008 -- here's hoping Ayer (who I interviewed this past fall) finds success with his sophomore directorial effort after Harsh Times failed to find much of an audience, despite a fantabulous performance from Christian Bale.

Just when you thought you had seen the last of casting announcements for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, Batman-on-Film (The Dark Knight fan site) has reported that William Fichtner has officially joined the cast. Fresh off Will Ferrell's Blades of Glory, Fichtner is best known as a mainstay in the Bruckheimer universe -- he played the antsy astronaut who squares off against Bruce Willis in Armageddon, and had roles in Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down as well. His face might also ring a bell as the slightly psychotic government agent on Fox's Prison Break. So far there aren't many details about his role in The Dark Knight; other than the vague title of "bank manager," which may or may not even be accurate, considering the unofficial nature of the source. If that is his role, it's not exactly the most dynamic sounding part, but you never know.

The film is currently shooting in Chicago, and Erik gave us the heads up for the first set photographs online (most of the photos were related to an opening action sequence in a bank, so that is probably where Fichtner's character comes in) and just today we got our first, if somewhat blurry look at Heath Ledger as The Joker. There hasn't exactly been a shortage of fan scrutiny over every casting choice in the film, and while it seems like some of the choices have been met with universal approval, there has been plenty of debate on other roles, proving yet again that you can't please all of the Batman fans all of the time. Considering that Fichtner's role, if it is what it is, seems pretty "controversy-free," I doubt there is going to be that kind of attention this time around.

I've never seen any of the films written or directed by Eric Red -- unlike Scott, who is a big fan -- but I like the sound of his comeback effort, 100 Feet. It involves a woman under house arrest for killing her abusive husband, who just so happens to be haunting the house she can't leave. Sounds like a combination of Cherish, Double Jeopardy and The Gravedancers, all of which I enjoyed to some degree (and two of which starred cast members of Prison Break -- not that this is important).

Now, in addition to liking the premise, I like the star of 100 Feet, too. JoBlo.com exclusively announced that Famke Janssen will play the captive/terrorized woman, and the site quoted Red as saying he plans for her to evoke Audrey Hepburn's Oscar-nominated performance in Wait Until Dark. I like Janssen a lot and think she's due for a role that takes her acting talents serious, but I doubt this will get her that level of acclaim. I do believe she will do a good job of carrying the film and its potentially emotional scenes, hopefully enough that it will propel her toward other work that will get so recognized. After all, she's a better actress than her two female teammates in the X-Men movies, and both of them have Academy Awards.

As this is my first post on this topic, let me just say how excited I am to see Marvel rolling the dice on a new Incredible Hulk film. There's no reason why Ang Lee's stinker should immediately erase all chances of ever seeing the green dude back on the big screen. He's a great character and one of Marvel's most successful comic book franchises -- why not give the guy a chance?

Anyway, rumors have been swirling as to who will take over for Eric Bana in the role. To date, folks like Brendan Fraser, Dominic Purcell and Adam Garcia have been mentioned as possibilities. Well, today Dominic Purcell was a guest on a local radio show here in New York and he was asked whether there was any truth to his involvement in the next Hulk flick. AICN has the actual audio from the interview, and based on his weird answer, it definitely sounds like he's our guy. I imagine he's currently in negotiations to star and can't really get into it. Hey, I like the guy on Prison Break -- he certainly has that quiet, intriguing, "What's up with this guy?" persona. Good choice? Bad move? Thoughts?