StellanSkarsgard Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Robert DeNiro and Jude Law Join 'Thor'?
The casting twists and turns of the Marvel Universe are nearly as interesting as the movies themselves -- ok, not quite, but you have to let me run with a little hyperbole. The casting for Kenneth Branagh's Thor has been top notch so far, but the latest casting rumors might just take the film into the realm of unbelievable. According to Ain't It Cool News, German actor Matthias Schweighöfer revealed in German GQ that not only was he up for a role in Thor, but that Jude Law and Robert DeNiro were part of the cast. Obviously, this is coming from a magazine and through a bit of translation, so we'll have to see if its officially confirmed. But running on the big assumption that this is a done deal, Thor has managed to land the biggest and most illustrious cast of Marvel yet -- and after Iron Man 1 and 2, that's saying a lot.
But who on earth could they be playing? I had Stellan Skarsgard pegged as Odin, but could it actually be DeNiro? Law actually fits the profile of a few Asgardians. I could easily see him as Balder, half brother of Thor. As for Schweighofer, there's a dozen Asgardians I could see him as. I can't wait to see the pieces come together on this intruging rumor.
Just Who Are Thor's Warriors?
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », RumorMonger », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
The week has ended without Thor fans finding out who Stellan Skarsgard is playing, but we have a hint as to who else might be appearing in Kenneth Branagh's film. SpoilerTV, who have stumbled on many a casting hint lately, have posted an alleged casting call for "Warriors." The requirements are stern, as befits residents and foes of Asgard: "A fearless warrior race, where size, strength and ferocity define a member's rank in both the social and military hierarchy. Warriors born in this society face the harshest ecological conditions imaginable and thrive in environments where lesser creatures, including humans, quickly perishes. Theirs is a world created to cull weakness from the universe to ensure their supreme sovereignty spreads across the stars. MUST BE 6'2 OR TALLER sptv050769, NO BODYBUILDER TYPES. SAG ROLE BUT NO LINES. MUST BE COMFORTABLE WEARING PROSTHETICS."At the word "Warriors" my brain stopped, and I thought it was a casting call for the Warriors Three. But those three badasses are quite distinct personalities, and none of them would need prosthetics other than the extremely large Volstagg. It's clearly not them.
The key phrase here would appear to be "their supreme sovereignty spreads across the stars." Is this a casting call for the Skrulls? You can't really get any more militaristic and conquest driven than these guys, and one definitely needs prosthetics to pull them off. But what the heck would Skrulls be doing in Thor? Even Loki hasn't had much to do with those creeps until recently. The obvious answer would be to have them come in and set up The Avengers, but with two villains and two love interests, you'd think there was enough crazy to go around. Anyone out there have a better guess as to who our prosthetic-heavy warriors might be?
[via Superhero Hype]
Stellan Skarsgard Joins 'Thor'
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », RumorMonger », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
We're entering into a frustrating trend with Thor news now. Excellent actors continue to sign on, but we have no idea who they are playing, which certainly keeps things interesting, but hurts when it comes to the geek discussions we could be having. The latest to reportedly join the cast is a Skarsgard, but not the one who you might expect.. According to Swedish news site Ystands Allehanda, Stellan Skarsgard has joined the cast of Thor in an unspecified role. As you Thor fans undoubtedly remember, Stellan's son Alexander was in the running to play Thor. Skarsgard confirmed that he was so close as to have tried on the costume, and was one of the last contenders cut before Kenneth Branagh chose Chris Hemsworth. (Every episode of True Blood I see, I think Hemsworth has to be something really special if they cut Skarsgard, who would have been my pick.) If the elder Skarsgard is indeed part of the cast, I would like to be a fly on the wall for that family phone call.
Read the rest over at SciFi Squad
Fantastic Fest Review: Metropia
Filed under: Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Theatrical Reviews », Fantastic Fest »
Some people go to Fantastic Fest to focus on horror films; me, I grab the rare opportunity to see animated movies made for grownups. I especially like animation that looks and feels a little different than the mainstream -- for example, the rotoscoped look of A Scanner Darkly. Metropia touches on some of the same themes as A Scanner Darkly, but this animated feature looks like nothing else you've seen onscreen lately.
Metropia is set in Europe in 2024, in a grim future where natural resources have dried up, financial collapse has left most people struggling, and the biggest corporation in the world is Trexx, which runs a giant Metro system (subway) all across the continent. Roger (Vincent Gallo), a Swedish call-center worker, is considered paranoid for worrying about whether Trexx, and the Metro, are involved in some sort of oppressive conspiracy. When his bike is broken and he's forced to ride the underground train, he has to fight a voice in his head that doesn't quite sound like his own, as well as the urge to follow his dream girl, Nina (Juliette Lewis), whose face adorns popular shampoo ads and bottles everywhere.
Review: Mamma Mia!
Filed under: Comedy », Music & Musicals », Romance », Universal », Theatrical Reviews »
I'm slightly mistrustful of titles that include exclamation points. They always remind me of the musical version of The Elephant Man, Elephant!, in The Tall Guy ("... there's an angel with big eeears..."). But in the case of Mamma Mia!, I'm actually surprised the title only included one exclamation point -- you can imagine the filmmakers or the creators of the stage version embracing even more emphatic punctuation, just to let you know that This! Is a Musical! And also Wacky!! As if chorus lines of men in flippers, Meryl Streep waving a feather boa, and enough ABBA music to sate the leads of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert wouldn't have clued you in.
The movie, like the stage musical it's adapted from, is essentially and unabashedly an extended gimmick -- an excuse to sing and perform songs that originated from the Swedish musical group ABBA. Characters spontaneously burst into song not because they're aspiring performers (Chicago), or because their singing is meant as a melodious soliloquy (Sweeney Todd), but because the situation or their emotional state reminds them of an ABBA song (sometimes more tangentially than others), and they decide to share it with everyone. I've had friends like this in real life, although that seems to have been a college-age thing.
Waz Trailer Now Online
Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », The Weinstein Co. », Movie Marketing », Cinematical Indie », Trailers and Clips »
If you're excited about the latest psychological thriller, Waz (or WΔZ), then be sure to watch that trailer above (courtesy of TerrorFeed.com). I'm not going to promise that you can see much, though. Really, it has got to be the darkest preview I've ever seen -- and I'm not talking about dark in terms of subject matter. I know my computer is facing a sunny window, and there's probably a good amount of dust on my screen, but still. A scary movie trailer shouldn't only be accessible to horror geeks watching from their black-curtained basement bedrooms. If I hadn't read the synopsis provided by HorrorMovies.ca, I wouldn't have had any idea what was going on. All I would have had to say was, "Stellan Skarsgard sure does look badass with a mustache," and "boy, Melissa George is even more easily confused for Rachel McAdams in the dark."
Now that I've gotten over the seemingly poor quality of the movie (or the trailer, at least), I recall that I was once pretty interested in Waz. Last May, when Ryan wrote about the film being picked up at Cannes by The Weinstein Co., he quoted George from his interview with the actress, and her description made the thing sound very intriguing. She called it a "genius storyline" dealing how humans are more willing to sacrifice a loved one for their own survival than other animals, who are apt to sacrifice themselves for the good of "the kingdom." Yeah, that sounds good, right? Too bad the end result looks more like just another Se7en knock-off. But of course, there is a chance that it is as good as George claims. Variety's Derek Elley called it a "mightily impressive feature debut" from director Tom Shankland and Cinematical horror expert Scott Weinberg wrote on another site that it's "solid" and "one of the best [serial killer flicks] I've seen in awhile." I guess it's just a bad trailer, then?
Juliette Lewis and Vincent Gallo Head to the Animated 'Metropia'
Filed under: Animation », Drama », Casting »
Have no fear -- Vincent Gallo isn't going to become the next Tim Allen -- one of those unlikely men whose interesting past is buried as they become a bright and shiny Disney name. And no, this new project is not a big-screen version of the Canadian TV drama. Metropia is gearing up to be adult fare with a Swedish twist, and Variety reports that Gallo and Juliette Lewis are leading the film's voice cast.According to ATMO... "Metropia is taking place in a not-so-distant, terrifying Europe. The world is running out of oil, and the net of undergrounds has been connected, creating a gigantic web underneath Europe. Roger from Farsta (a suburb of Stockholm) tries to stay away from the underground. He think it's unpleasant and he sometimes hears strange voices in his head." Then, this dude finds out that every detail of his life is being controlled. (But I ask, if every detail was controlled, could you actually discover that and change it?) The best part: "To succeed, he needs supermodel Nina to help him. Or, is it maybe Nina that needs Roger?" The best way to survive the scary future: supermodels!
Since Gallo and Lewis are leading the voice cast, I imagine they will be Roger and Nina. Are they the people you would pick for a guy suffering from strange voices and a future-saving supermodel? Joining them -- Udo Kier, Stellan Skarsgard, Sofia Helin, Shanti Roney, and Alexander Skarsgard. In the works for a handful of years now, this project should be pretty interesting -- the plan is to blend live action with animation, and Tarik Saleh, the film's director, says: "The border between animation and regular fiction film is blurring. In the future, the audience will not categorize films in the way we tend to do today. Metropia is steps ahead." Well, we'll find out fairly soon -- the film's release is slated for Spring 2009.
The Weinsteins Will Distribute 'Waz'
Filed under: Drama », Thrillers », Deals », Cannes », The Weinstein Co. », Home Entertainment »
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Last November, when I interviewed Melissa George for the horror film Turistas, we ended up talking about another project on her horizon, the psychological thriller Waz, with Stellan Skarsgard. George said the film had a "genius storyline" but sort of went around the world when describing it, not wanting to be pinned down on an actual plot description. "It's about altruism in nature and whether you'd kill someone you love in order to survive yourself," she said. When pressed, she gave me a monkey analogy. "In nature there are some animals who will put themselves on the front line to be killed in order to save the kingdom, because they are the same gene pool. They don't care. They just want to survive. One monkey will go out in front of another and get killed in order to save 300 of them behind him. You know what I mean? Whereas, humans, we're a separate gene pool." Hmmm ...
Anyway, the trades are reporting that just as the Cannes fest was closing, the Weinsteins made a couple of last-minute deals, and one of them was to pick up North American home video rights to Waz. The film, which is described in the article as "the story of a detective (Skarsgard) stalked by a serial killer," will be released through the Genius home video label, although when hasn't been specified. In addition to Waz, the Weinsteins also picked up North American rights to the Joy Division biopic Control and Australian rights to the animated film Persepolis -- both of the latter were reviewed by our own James at Cannes.
Trailer for Milos Forman's 'Goya's Ghosts' is Online
Filed under: Drama », Trailer Trash »
With only 2 months until Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts is sent out into limited release stateside, a trailer has finally hit the Internet. The movie centers on Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgård) and his painting subject, Inés (Natalie Portman). After posing for the painter, she is picked up by the Spanish Inquisition under accusations that she's a heretic who practices Jewish rituals. She's tortured, confesses and is kept in the dungeons until Napoleon's army arrives and frees the Inquisition's victims. The pair are further tied together by Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem) who proves to be only a little brotherly, and more dastardly. And just to make the mix more interesting, there's also Randy Quaid as King Carlos IV. Most of the previous buzz about the film didn't center on this being Forman's first feature since Man on the Moon, but that Portman had a nude torture scene. The trailer only briefly focuses on that, and instead fleshes out what looks to be a pretty interesting movie. There's a lot of attention places on Goya's art as much as Inés' plight. However, the trailer powers that be have really got to get a handle on when those cheesy voiceover voices are appropriate. In April, I shared the Bug trailer that was all sorts of goofy, and now Ghosts is a bit tarnished by the disembodied voice giving the run-down. With scenes of troubled painting, inquisition and torture, do we really need to hear things like "...a woman adored for her beauty" all deep and gravelly when Portman pops up on-screen? These voices have their place, but not for a period piece about one of Spain's most famous painters -- especially when it clashes with the accents on-screen.
Colin Firth Joins 'Mamma Mia!'
Filed under: Comedy », Music & Musicals », Romance », Casting », Remakes and Sequels »
I love the music of ABBA more than any allegedly heterosexual male should. And I'm not just talking "Dancing Queen" here, I celebrate their entire catalog. I am not ashamed to tell you that I am pretty excited about the feature film adaptation of Mamma Mia!. And they're putting together an exceptional cast for this thing. We already reported that Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, and Pierce Brosnan would play the lead roles, and it was just announced that Colin Firth, the very funny Christine Baranski, and authentic Swede Stellan Skarsgard have joined the cast. You probably know Skarsgard from Good Will Hunting, you probably know Baranski from The Birdcage, and you probably know Firth from your girlfriend asking you to be more like him.I saw the show on Broadway and found it extremely dumb but a lot of fun. The story centers on a bride-to-be (Seyfreid), and her formerly slutty mom (Streep). Mom has never told the daughter who her father was, so the daughter invites three possible candidates to the wedding. Swedish-scored hijinks ensue. Firth, Skarsgard, and Brosnan will play the three potential dads, and Baranski will play "a plastic surgery-loving party girl in her 40's who is bossy and boozy." If you're looking to brush up on your ABBA before the movie hits theaters, the best place to start is with their greatest hits album, Gold -- it certainly lives up to its name. Go ahead and laugh, but if you're not drying your eyes by the final chorus of "Chiquitita," you're a stronger man than I. Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong! British theater director Phyllida Lloyd is directing Mamma Mia!, which is set for release on July 18th, 2008.
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