When I told a friend of mine that I was heading to a screening of Baby Mama, he immediately replied: "Oh, the Saturday Night Live movie?" Hmm -- well, sort of. The comedy -- which premiered at Tribeca and goes wide this weekend -- was produced by SNL honcho Lorne Michaels, and stars show veterans Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. On the other hand, it's not based on an SNL sketch, and doesn't feature any characters from the show.
Baby Mama's pre-release reputation as a "Saturday Night Live movie" probably isn't helpful: movies falling into that category don't have the best track record in the minds of people who pay attention. At the same time, the show has contributed a lot to the movies, mostly in its capacity as a breeding ground for comedic talent. This installment of Cinematical Seven collects films with an SNL connection that have actually been good, or in some way significant. I limited the pool to the last ten years; we all know that The Blues Brothers and Wayne's World are classics that started out as SNL sketches, but what has the show done for us lately?
See, world! Perfectly normal, lovely girls read comic books.
Rachel McAdams spoke to MTV recently, and revealed that she's quite fond of comics and graphic novels. More than that, she wants to be the Black Orchid. "It's a really interesting character," the actress said. "She's a superhero that's a flower. I don't know if that would work or the audiences would be interested in that, but she was kind of cool."
She knows her stuff, too. She wants Neil Gaiman's 1988 run to be adapted.
Reportedly, McAdams has auditioned and lost roles in Iron Man, Fantastic Four, and Batman Begins. That's simply not fair. An actress who can name drop Neil Gaiman (I bet Gwyenth Paltrow can't) deserves a really cool superheroine. Hopefully, someone will take up her Black Orchid suggestion and cast her in the lead.
Mostly, I just want a girl to be rewarded for her geekery. Then we can all have hope! McAdams, you must be a pioneer for us all.
When I saw Ira Sachs' Married Lifeat the New York Film Festival last fall, I had a lot of problems with it. But one thing I didn't have any complaints about is how gorgeous Rachel McAdams looks in the film. And now, thanks to Rope of Silicon, you can see for yourself how amazing the actress looks as a '40s-era blonde beauty. My favorite photo is the third, in which McAdams almost looks like a dead-ringer for Kim Novak in Vertigo. But I'd be fine with looking at any of them. In fact, I'm not just a fan of the way McAdams looks in the film; I also love the three-piece style of Chris Cooper, the open-collared playboy thing that Pierce Brosnan has going on and the partially see-through top that Patricia Clarkson wears in the second-to-last pic. (Clarkson is so stunning in the film, she actually gives McAdams a run for her money, and makes it hard to believe Cooper would cheat on her with anyone.) But aside from simply looking terrific, all four of the stars of Married Life give wonderful performances, as usual.
The film, which opens in limited release March 7, is based on John Bingham's 1953 pulp novel Five Roundabouts to Heaven. Cooper and Clarkson play a married couple, and Cooper's character has a mistress (McAdams). He makes the mistake, though, of introducing the girl to his best friend, played by Brosnan. Not knowing that his mistress is having another affair with his best friend, Cooper's character decides to murder his wife, because it's a more humane thing to do than break her heart. It's a very Hitchcockian plot, which makes sense since Bingham's books were adapted into episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. And it's a good enough movie to recommend, especially because of those great-looking actors. I just wish that Sony Classics would do away with Brosnan's awful and unnecessary voice-over before releasing the movie into theaters.
The first stills from The Time Traveler's Wife have popped up over at JustJared, though the movie still has no release date -- fall 2008, I assume. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams star as two lovers who are hung up on the problem that Bana's character, a librarian named Henry De Tamble, has some kind of disease that causes him to time travel uncontrollably. It's during one of his time jaunts he happens upon Clare Abshire, the character played by McAdams. The way I understand it is that De Tamble continues to pop in on Clare at various ages and at different intervals, even as she moves forward along an normal, unmolested timeline. So unless I'm wrong, it will play out sort of like as if he was going off to war and leaving her alone for long periods of time, causing a severe form of separation anxiety. But since I haven't read the book, I could be wrong on that. I do remember that this book was initially optioned by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston as a vehicle for the two of them to star in -- so much for that.
The movie sounds like it's at least worth a look -- sci-fi romance is always a chancy but interesting genre. The one dark cloud hanging over the whole thing, however, is that it's directed by Robert Schwentke, the genius who last graced us with Jodie Foster's Flightplan. You can't really tell anything about the movie from the small batch of stills -- they look like typically publicity shots for a romantic dramedy. No one looks to have been aged significantly and there's nothing special at all about them, really, but here they are -- enjoy.
Lots of people say that it isn't easy buying gifts for people, but I have to disagree. Unless you have almost zero contact with a person, it's easy to just keep a few mental notes about their likes and find a gift that's at least moderately suitable. But with the advent of the Internet and a sweet little service called eBay, it became ridiculously easy to put in less effort and get even better gifts -- especially for the rabid movie geek. The site is a veritable smorgasbord of movie memorabilia. Remember a few key words from past conversations, and you can come up with tongue-twisting gifting greatness -- memorable movie memorabilia.
Yeah, some of it is beyond ridiculously-priced. I'm still bummed that I couldn't buy a few Buffy auction pieces a few years ago when the show ended, but not all of it is made for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags. There's also funky Buy it Now stuff, and little trinkets from films that never come close to the dreaded 4-figures. What follows is a list of current auction goodies that could make you the best Santa ever. Some are always available, others are rare, funky finds, and all of it is something that'd be special and unique. And remember -- be a smart bidder.
Who knows how pricey this item will get when it hits its end date on December 19, but as I'm writing this on Saturday morning, it's current $10.50. Sure, that price is guaranteed to go up, but it's still a heck of a cheap price for a highly-recognizable prop from this summer's best comedy. Team this puppy with a picture of Jonah Hill running with the detergent containers and the prop's certificate of authenticity, and you'll become a gift-giving God to any fan of Judd Apatow, Hill, and all that is Superbad.
When Brad Pittditched his starring role in State of Playlast Wednesday, it seemed like for once a production was hitting snags that have nothing to do with the writer's strike. Not true; it turns out Pitt's departure was due to a script problem, specifically that Pitt thinks it needs some more work and Universal disagrees, and so State of Play has become yet another victim of the strike. But unlike other strike-affected movies, such as Pinkvilleand Shantaram, State of Play may not be going into a development hibernation. According to Variety, Universal is attempting to woo Russell Crowe to fill Pitt's shoes and keep the movie on track. Crowe would have to make sure he can squeeze this film in before his March start on Ridley Scott's Nottingham, while the studio would have to make sure that Crowe doesn't mind problem scripts. If the actor doesn't get cast, though, Variety points out that both Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp seem to be available thanks to the strike (same goes for Bruce Willis I think).
Obviously, Universal is hoping to get this movie made no matter what, because it needs to have something in the can once the strike has left us with a release void. Yet despite the strength of its cast, which includes Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman, the studio has to understand that if the script is problematic, the outcome may be a disappointment. It's worth pointing out that the plot of State of Play, which deals with politics and journalism, sounds superficially like the recent remake of All the King's Men, which had a stellar ensemble yet failed anyway. State and Play may be nothing like that film, but regardless it does remind me enough to foresee a failure. Anyway, we should hear definite word on whether or not Crowe takes the part early this week. We should also hear definite word, though probably not this week, on whether or not Universal plans to sue Pitt over his exit. The case will certainly be interesting to follow, because it could change the way in which Hollywood deals with A-list talent and pay-or-play contracts.
With the men in place -- Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Jason Bateman (who was added just the other day) -- State of Play has finally gotten to its female stars. They are: Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, and Robin Wright Penn. How do they fit in? Well, as you might remember, Play is about a congressman (Norton) whose lover is murdered, and a newspaper that is investigating the story. McAdams is the "reporter in the middle of a career-making story," Mirren will be her "steely editor" (played in the original miniseries by Bill Nighy), and finally, Wright Penn will be the congressman's estranged wife. Pitt is an ex-campaign manager for Norton's character who leads the investigation, and Bateman is a fellow lead reporter.
I think it's a pretty safe bet that this will do well -- it's a great cast without being so star-studded that it drowns in its own celebrity. Step by step, Rachel McAdams is solidifying her spot in fame -- and it's surprising to see just how few big films she's been in. Instead of just picking whatever (as seems to be Bateman's plan), she's been spacing out the work and selecting certain roles, which seem to be paying off. Next up for her: a period drama called Married Life. Helen Mirren, well, she's been taking the world by storm lately, and proving that women shouldn't be put out to pasture after hitting 40 or 50 -- even though, for some reason, she decided to take part in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. And finally, there's Robin Wright Penn, who has kept under the radar for the most part, but selects a pretty varied collection of films from The Singing Detective to Hounddog. In less than two months, we'll see her in Beowulf.
Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana have inked deals to co-star in The Time Traveler's Wife, a science-fiction love story based on the best-selling novel by Audrey Niffenegger. Bana will play Henry De Tamble, a librarian with a genetic disorder that causes him to shift back and forth through time. During his journeys through time, he meets and falls in love with Clare Abshire, a young heiress. Robert Schwentke, who most recently directed the Jodie Foster disappointment Flightplan, will take the reigns with a script by Jeremy Leven. Variety notes that a rewrite is currently being penned by Bruce Joel Rubin, who successfully combined high-concept and romance once before, with Ghost.
Shooting is scheduled to begin in August, with production duties being handled by Brad Pitt and Nick Wechsler, who is also producing the forthcoming Reservation Road and We Own the Night, and recently came off The Fountain, which Pitt famously backed out of after of a long engagement. The Variety story notes that McAdams has been dancing around this project ever since it was first snapped up by New Line in 2003. She's since starred in New Line hits Wedding Crashers and The Notebook, so the part was probably hers to lose. Next up for McAdams is The Return, a story of soldiers rotating back to the world from Iraq. Bana's next high-profile project is The Other Boleyn Girl, in which he plays King Henry VIII.
You hear that a new movie is coming down the pike that will tell the story of three soldiers from Iraq called The Return (not SMG's latest). Chances are, you think of a number of people including Mark Whalberg, Christian Bale or any of the other actors who can pull off the buzz-cut tough guy thing. Hell, you might even think of Michael Peña, who was recently in World Trade Center and Babel. Peña is one, and he will be joined by none other than Rachel McAdams and Tim Robbins. The film is about three soldiers returning from the Iraq war, each trying to find their own way back into civilian life and deal with the trauma of their experiences.
The story, which was penned by Neil Burger and Dirk Wittenborn will follow the three as they return to the states and take an unexpected road trip together across the country. Burger, who just wrote and directed The Illusionist, will also direct the feature this May, with a possible release in December. I can only hope that he's got some more subtlety for this film, as his previous effort had the least climactic, and most obvious revelation that I've ever seen. But the bigger challenge might be getting the audience to buy McAdams as a soldier. She's done some decent work and has successfully come up against a killer, but that's not the same as going through boot camp and Iraq. Thoughts?
Reactions to Christopher Nolan'sBatman Begins might have been varied, but on one point most seemed to agree -- there was nothing all that thrilling about the performance of Katie Holmes. To be honest, although I was ambivalent about her in the movie, "the girl" role in Batman movies has never been all that interesting to me to begin with. In the end, they are always just somebody to rescue.
On Thursday, tipsters inside Warner Brothers told LatinoReview.com that Katie Holmes would not be returning in the role of Bruce Wayne's childhood love Rachel Dawes for the sequel, The Dark Knight. Then, Variety confirmed that Holmes had officially dropped out to join Mad Money with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah. Now, the rumor mill is at full tilt about Rachel McAdams being the front-runner to replace Holmes as "the girl" in the film. It's all completely unsubstantiated at this date, but another rumor -- that McAdams has been asked to make an appearance in the film as Selena Kyle -- seems somehow more credible. Also, Nolan is still looking for his Harvey Dent, so it may be a while before this cast begins to fall into place.
If you had to choose the better year for Cillian Murphy, would you pick 2005 or 2006? In the earlier year, millions of viewers saw him in Batman Begins and Red Eye. In the later year, a few people saw him in Breakfast on Pluto(which was also seen by some in 2005) and the Cannes winner The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Okay, so I'm going by American audiences -- both were seen by a lot of people overseas. Still, 2005 was the year he seemed to shoot into stardom with higher profile roles. And he had already been widely seen a few years earlier in 28 Days Later.
Speaking of 28 Days Later, that film also featured Naomie Harris, who now co-stars with Murphy in the list of nominees for BAFTA's Orange Rising Star Award. The award debuted at last year's BAFTA Awards in order to recognize an actor or actress with great promise for the future in terms of acting talent and connection with audiences. The first winner was James McAvoy, who beat out breakthrough actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams (who was also in Red Eye), Michelle Williams and Gael García Bernal.
Sad but true, my friends, the tales of Rachel McAdams playing Pepper Potts are apparently nothing but dirty lies. While the actress seemed like a very good choice for the part, and fanboys across the world seemed to roundly approve, Rachel McAdams will not be joining the cast of Iron Man. You can read the debunking of these rumors over at Rachel Online (such a clever name for a fansite, isn't it?), straight from the mouth of her publicist, who flatly denies any involvement with the film. The website advises we keep our fingers crossed for The Dark Knight, however; so if you are hoping to see McAdams in a super hero flick you might still have a chance.
While this news is very depressing on the surface, we can always look for the silver lining -- this means the rumor mill can start back up again! We could be looking at months and months of weird rumors and incorrect reports attaching every starlet in Hollywood to the project. Before you know it, there will be 10 actresses playing the part! Fun, right? Right? Yeah, I know. But at least all you have to do is read about it. I've got to keep writing this stuff.
There are probably a good deal of you out there who read this headline and thought to yourself "Who the heck is Pepper Potts?" I'm sure most of the readers who regularly check Cinematical for geek news are familiar with the girl, but for those of you who check it for the other 95% of our content, we'll give you a quick filler. Pepper Potts showed up as Tony Stark's (that's Iron Man) secretary back in the 60s, and had a mad crush on the man for years before eventually marrying* a guy named Happy Hogan, who was both an employee and friend of Stark/Iron Man.
So really, the short answer to the question of "Who is Pepper Potts?" as she relates to cinema is probably "The love interest and main female lead for Jon Favreau'sIron Man flick." This means the part is likely a hot commodity, because superhero flicks are all the rage, and everyone wants in on them these days. Iron Man may not be Spider-Man, but the title certainly carries a fair amount of prestige and has a shot at being quite a successful flick. As the title of this post obviously indicates, Rachel McAdams is rumored to be the lead horse (probably a poorly chosen metaphor) in the race right now. Does she want the part? Who knows. But the part seems to want her, as Latino Review reports she has been offered an exclusive read-through on the script for her immediate attention. Opinions?
*And there's a whole story in their relationship as well.
According to TMZ (via Coming Soon), super-hot Rachel McAdams, star of Wedding Crashers, Red Eye and The Notebook, is in serious talks to star in the film as Clair, a beautiful art student who falls for Henry, a librarian with a problem: At random moments he disappears and travels through time to other parts of his life. Obviously, this causes a great deal of trouble for Henry and Clair as they struggle with children, jobs, friends and any semblance of a normal life. If she takes the role, this will mark McAdams' second go-round with screenwriter Leven after their work together on The Notebook.
No word yet on who will play time traveling Henry, but if producers are looking for any suggestions, I'll throw one out: How about casting McAdams' co-star from The NotebookRyan Gosling in the role? Although Gosling might be a little busy these days seeing as he's appearing in at least four new movies over the next year, including director David Michael's The Other Side and The Last Face for director Erin Dignam. Still, casting these two actors together worked pretty well for The Notebook and I'm sure the duo could do wonderful things with The Time Traveler's Wife too.
I don't know about you, but when I think of a movie, set
in the 1940s, about a man who cheats on his wife and decides the best solution is to kill her, rather than force her to
go through the "shame of a divorce," I think satirical, Cary Grant-starring screwball comedy. Now, as far as I know, Cary never plotted
to kill any of his movie wives, but that plot fits him perfectly, doesn't it? He'd be perpetually exasperated at the
wife's ability to unknowingly avoid countless attempts to end her life, and everything about the movie would make it
clear that his character is a (lovable, dapper) moron.
I bring this up because that very story is about to be brought to the big screen by
Ira Sachs, who also wrote the screenplay (he did the same double-duty on last year's inexplicably praised Forty Shades of Blue). Here's the one big
difference (apart from the fact that my fantasy star is long-dead): Sachs' film, entitled Marriage, is a
drama. Wha? So, he's going to make a serious movie about a guy sincerely trying to spare his wife by killing her? That
sounds ... interesting. I guess. Maybe they're setting it in the 1940s so that the period atmosphere will make his
actions seem rational, or something.
In talks to star in the film are Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Rachel McAdams (She better be a
freaking daughter, and not the girlfriend -- is she even half Brosnan's age?), and Patricia Clarkson; Sachs hopes to begin shooting in a few months.
See, world! Perfectly normal, lovely girls read comic books. 
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I don't know about you, but when I think of a movie, set
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go through the "shame of a divorce," I think satirical, 
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SCOOP: Spider-Man 4 and 5 Might be Shot at the Same Time!
Cinematical Seven: Disney's Awesome Live-Action Kid Adventures
