Posts tagged RobertLuketic at Cinematical

Posts with tag RobertLuketic

8 Sneak Peaks at '21'

Posted Mar 6th 2008 10:02AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Trailers and Clips

A movie about card counting? It could so easily be yawn-worthy, but then again, there have been some sweet card-playing flicks in the past, so anything is possible. 21, based on those MIT peeps who made news for their speedy, mental card counting, is coming out this month (we'll have an early review from SXSW), and Cinema Blend has 8 clips up to whet your appetite -- ones that make things a bit more interesting than the earlier trailer.

Granted, this isn't any sort of documentary on these guys, but a Hollywoodized drama. And, as Jessica stated last month, a bit white-washed. Nevertheless, it's got the lights of Sin City, and that irresistible money allure. In the clips, you can check out the suit-cost scene that works much better outside of the trailer, lots of practicing, the inevitable fissures of cockiness and working for someone outside of the law, and some introductions, although unfortunately, the sound doesn't seem to be working on that clip (numbered 8, but really 7).

It's flashy, it's Hollywood, and it's directed by the guy behind Tad Hamilton and Legally Blonde, so you decide. Still, even with the fanciness, I kinda like seeing smart number crunchers on screen. We see so many idiots these days, ones that make you wonder if they even know how to tie their shoes, that it's nice to see someone who can do math in their head.

Gerard Butler Shows Katherine Heigl 'The Ugly Truth'

Posted Jan 30th 2008 11:02AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Casting

After being a bit unhappy with some of the portrayals in Knocked Up, what does Katherine Heigl do? She signs on to star in a new romcom called The Ugly Truth, which Christopher Campbell told you about in November. The flick will focus on a "romantically challenged" morning show producer who deals with a chauvinistic correspondent trying to teach her how to find love. There's nothing like saying Knocked Up is sexist and then signing up for a movie where she gets taught love by a chauvinist.

Now Variety reports that Gerard Butler will be the guy to "guide" her. He's going to play a man called Mike Alexander, who is the "host of a TV segment titled 'The Ugly Truth.'" Heigl's character is "reluctantly embroiled by her chauvinistic correspondent (Butler) in a series of outrageous tests to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love." Well, I guess he was just done with all that uber thoughtfulness from P.S. I Love You.

To give a little credit to the project -- it's teaming director Robert Luketic with writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith -- they're the team behind Legally Blonde, which was a surprisingly fun film that cut through a lot of stereotypes. But still. A film where a man who finds women, or whose behavior indicates that he finds them, to be inferior teaches a smart, successful, and attractive woman how to find love is condescendingly passe.

If, however, the description is painting a falsely poor light on the film, I sure hope they correct it soon.

SXSW Wants To Play '21' On Opening Night

Posted Jan 2nd 2008 4:32PM by Scott Weinberg
Filed under: SXSW

It seems like just a few months ago we were enjoying the sights, the sounds, the smells and the cinema of South By Southwest 2007, but guess what? Now that it's January, the festival's only about nine weeks away! Awesome! So today we caught some slightly early news on what SXSW is cooking up for this March, and I must say I'm pretty impressed with what they snagged for their opening night film.

And that film is: Robert Luketic's 21, which is based on the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. (You may remember Mr. Luketic from flicks like Legally Blonde, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, and Monster-in-Law.) Adapted by Ben Mezrich's book by screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb, 21 stars Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess. (Check out the trailer right here.)

And if that world premiere isn't cool enough, festival chief Matt Dentler has also divulged the following titles for SXSW '08:

At the Death House Door (Steve James & Peter Gilbert) "A sobering and powerful story of the wrongful execution of Carlos DeLuna and the Death House Chaplain, Pastor Carroll Pickett, who spent the last day of DeLuna's life with him."

Dreams with Sharp Teeth (Erik Nelson) "A documentary portrait of acclaimed author Harlan Ellison, as he looks back on his fabled and influential career as one of the world's top science fiction writers."

Flawless (Michael Radford) "In 1960s London, a talented but overlooked diamond executive (Demi Moore) is convinced to participate in a jewelry heist when a veteran janitor (Michael Caine) hatches a plan."

Run Fatboy Run (David Schwimmer) "An out-of-shape divorced father (Simon Pegg) makes one last attempt to win back the respect of his son, his ex-wife (Thandie Newton), and the community around him. All he has to do is finish his first marathon."

Wild Blue Yonder (Celia Maysles) "Celia Maysles had no idea her father and his brother Albert were pioneers of verite documentary filmmaking. Determined to uncover the secrets surrounding her background, Celia sets out on a quest to rediscover her father by using his own artistic process."

Expect a few more flashy surprises before the full SXSW slate is announced on February 5! Until then, feel free to browse through the SXSW website and decide if THIS is the year you're finally going to take my advice and attend the dang festival. (You do know it's a movie AND music fest, right? Interactive, too, and I do believe I've mentioned the indigenous BBQ more than once.)

A Trailer for Kevin Spacey's '21'

Posted Nov 19th 2007 6:32PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Drama, Sony, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips

At this point, I'm starting to think that it's contractually obligated that if either Kevin Spacey or Kate Bosworth appears in a film, the other automatically gets a part. OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, but you can't deny that the two seem to really enjoy working together. Yahoo Movies is now hosting the trailer for their latest collaboration, 21, the real-life story of six M.I.T students who develop a foolproof plan to win at Black Jack. The film is based on the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich (and I guess I don't have to explain why they chose to go with the new title 21 -- I doubt Sony wanted their audiences getting the film confused with a C-grade Queen Latifah comedy).

The story centers on a group of M.I.T math students who along with their 'mentor' come up with a new system of "counting cards" -- if you haven't read the book and don't mind a little math in your light reading then I would definitely recommend it. Although I wouldn't recommend trying out their system, unless you don't mind the idea of getting roughed up by pit bosses.

The film was directed by Robert Luketic, who isn't exactly a household name, but is probably best known as the director of Legally Blonde. The book was adapted for the screen by Allan Loeb (Things We Lost in the Fire) and Peter Steinfeld (Analyze That). Joining Spacey and Bosworth are Laurence Fishburne in what looks like the role of a casino boss (better known as "the Heavy" in the flick) and Jim Sturgess as the newest member of the gang. 21 is set for release on March 28th, 2008.

Katherine Heigl Dishes 'The Ugly Truth'

Posted Nov 16th 2007 4:32PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Casting, Sony, Newsstand

Earlier this year, in Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl played a television personality for E! But her character started out in a behind-the-camera role, despite the fact that she's a knock-out beauty. Now, according to Variety, the actress has been cast in a similar part. She'll play an off-screen producer of a morning show, who also happens to be "romantically challenged," in the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, in which she must deal with a "chauvinistic" correspondent attempting to teach her how to find love. Here's where the plot description makes little sense: "His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result." Unexpected? I think we all can easily predict and expect the result as being that Heigl's character falls for the correspondent. Anyone who has ever seen a screwball romantic comedy can see that one coming a mile away. When is Hollywood going to just own up to the fact that they use genre conventions and that we in the audience enjoy genre conventions (and have enjoyed them for a century now) and leave out the "unexpected" crap? Who do they think they're kidding?

The sad thing is that this not only sounds like another genre picture; it actually sounds more like the plot of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. But fans of that movie may not be interested in The Ugly Truth, which is being made by the collaborative team behind Legally Blonde. The script was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kristen Smith, who last gave us She's the Man (which I'm still not ashamed to admit I enjoyed), and it will be directed by Robert Luketic, whose last movie was Monster-in-Law (which I'm still not ashamed to admit I would never ever watch). Filming is set to begin mid-April. All we need now is a hot, irresistible, but believably chauvinistic actor to play the obvious love interest.

Quickhits: Luketic Bails on Dallas, Englund Directs, Even More Jackass

Posted Mar 31st 2006 8:30PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting, Deals, RumorMonger, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels

Hooray for Friday:

According to the great Johnny Knoxville, another Jackass movie is currently being filmed. Yippee, more screen time devoted to morons hurting themselves! Can you handle the excitement? Yes? Well then, how about the irony that Knoxville decided against The Dukes of Hazzard 2 because, as his costar said, "the reviews [were] just so bad", but is going ahead full force with this sequel? The mind boggles.

Bad sign #295 for Dallas: director Robert Luketic has left the project, reportedly because he's unhappy with some of the casting choices. He didn't mention any names but I think it's clear that like many of you, readers, he too hates JLo. Though Fox is acting like they'll get right back on the horse (Betty Thomas is rumored be in line to take over), the fact is that the film has been quietly pulled from their fall release schedule - get ready to wait.

Robert Englund (that's Freddie Krueger to you) has signed on to direct only his second feature, and his first in nearly 20 years, a horror comedy called Killer Pad. The movie is about three friends who move into a house in the Hollywood Hills, refusing to believe that it really has "a dark history." While it would be sort of refreshing to see a movie in which everyone just does laundry and hangs out in a decidedly non-haunted house, I'm guessing that's not going to be the case here: all sorts of blood and nastiness is undoubtedly in store for the lads.

Luketic Heads to Vegas

Posted Mar 22nd 2006 4:00PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Deals, Newsstand, Brett Ratner

Depending on where you look, ~~poker~~ Vegas-style card games are either as hot as they've ever been, or are on the way out. Given the fact that I can't watch TV without seeing either an ad for an online poker site (that, by the way, "is not a gambling site") or that baby Phil Hellmuth whining about something, the former seems likely. However, I've also read criticism recently that television ads that use poker for a gimmick have missed the boat, and are no longer getting the responses they once did. Who to believe? Well, if you're Columbia Pictures, you hope and pray that Vegas is hot hot hot, because you've just greenlighted 21, a movie about those kids from MIT who kicked Vegas in the ass.

The rights to Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, a novelist's non-fiction look at well, what it says, were optioned by co-producer Kevin Spacey who, he wants us to know, bought them after reading an excerpt in Playboy. Because he's totally straight. Just in case you were wondering. The movie has been in the works for long enough to be associated with several directors (Brett Ratner and Shawn Levy were both previously rumored to be taking on the project), and is currently in the hand of Robert Luketic. Luketic is also directing Dallas, however, so it's unclear when 21 will go into production.

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8 Sneak Peaks at '21'

Gerard Butler Shows Katherine Heigl 'The Ugly Truth'

SXSW Wants To Play '21' On Opening Night

A Trailer for Kevin Spacey's '21'

Katherine Heigl Dishes 'The Ugly Truth'

Quickhits: Luketic Bails on Dallas, Englund Directs, Even More Jackass

Luketic Heads to Vegas

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