TerryGeorge Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Considering how hard it is to get people to go see a Tom Cruise movie these days, it wouldn't be surprising if it was also hard to get a director who'll work with the guy. Of course, Cruise's waning bankability isn't the reason that his spy movie, the weakly titled Edwin A. Salt, has already lost Terry George and Michael Mann as potential directors. I'm not sure why they aren't doing the film (Mann apparently picked Public Enemies instead), but it can't be fears of a potentially low gross. No matter; they are out and Peter Berg (The Kingdom) is in, according to Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider Blog. Well, he's not quite in yet; Columbia Pictures is only reportedly wooing the guy, though in the end it's supposedly up to Cruise's approval whether or not he gets the gig. Interestingly enough, Berg can almost be viewed as a Mann protégé, since he produced The Kingdom and Berg's follow-up, next summer's Will Smith vehicle, Hancock (the trailer of which hit the net this week). However, it doesn't appear that Mann will have any involvement with Edwin A. Salt.

I won't admit to being the biggest fan of Berg's work (who could, really?), but I will admit that The Kingdom was one of my top ten movies of 2007. Though it's mainly on my list because all critics have to have that one obligatory mainstream Hollywood pick, I do think it was directed quite well, with a tone that perfectly suited what it was really about (American dreams of an '80s action-movie-type response to 9/11). Also, his Friday Night Lights (the film; I haven't seen the TV pilot he did) was better than most high school football movies. So, I'm excited to see what he can do with Cruise, a script from Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) and the beginning-to-get-tired world of spies.

Late one night, a family stops at a gas station as they return from a recital; another man drives his son home from a baseball game. A young boy steps too near the road; a father swerves his SUV to avoid oncoming traffic.

And hits the boy. And keeps going.

Reservation Road, the new film from Hotel Rwanda director Terry George, doesn't deal in the clashing of mighty armies or the conflict between nations; it looks at a smaller slice of the world. At the same time, the themes here -- guilt, sorrow, anger, forgiveness -- are explored with power and passion thanks to two extraordinary lead performances. Joaquin Phoenix plays Ethan, a college professor dealing with the sudden death of his son and how that's affecting his wife (Jennifer Connelly) and daughter (Ellie Fanning). He can't go on. He has to go on. Mark Ruffalo plays Dwight, a lawyer who's just drifting through his life -- his job, his shabby apartment, the ruins of his marriage -- and trying to be a good dad to his son (Eddie Alderson). When Dwight strikes and kills Ethan's son, he keeps going -- a single moment of weakness that comes to devour him. He didn't do anything deliberately. But that's no excuse. It was an accident. But it killed someone.

If you've been a steady reader of this blog for at least four days, then you know I have a strong affection for the complete works of Ms. Jennifer Connelly. And by complete works, I mean her talent, her face, her body of work AND her body, thank you very much. (Plus she's still so beautiful...) Anyway, as I was perusing through the Toronto Film Festival titles and jotting down which flicks I wanted to see ... there it was: Jen's name! She's got a movie called Reservation Road at Toronto ... and it looks pretty good!

From writer/director Terry George (In the Name of the Father, Hotel Rwanda) comes the story of ... well, I'm trying to remain relatively 'spoiler-free' for this movie, but the IMDb tells us it's "a drama that revolves around two fathers whose families and lives tragically converge with the death of a child." Sounds like your typically uplifting festival fare, but with Mr. George's track record -- and a cast that includes Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Mira Sorvino and the aforementioned mega-goddess -- it sounds like a title I'll definitely be taking in next month. Plus the film was co-written by the author of the novel, which in my opinion is always a positive sign.

Focus Features will release Reservation Road on October 19, but if you're as intrigued as I am, you can check out the new trailer over at IGN Movies. I however will NOT be watching the trailer, so please let me know what you think of it. (Without spoiling anything.)

We reported at the end of June that Joaquin Phoenix had agreed to star in the screen version of John Burnham Schwartz's novel Reservation Road. The novel, which was adapted by Schwartz himself, tells the story of a college professor whose young son is killed in a hit-and-run accident. The event (quite understandably) sends the man into a tailspin, and he heads out to track down the driver of the car -- who, meanwhile, has gone into a tailspin of his own, trying to decide if he should turn himself in or maintain his self-loathing freedom. Whew.

When the casting news first came out, it wasn't known which role Phoenix would play, but Variety reported this morning that he'll be the father, a gig that should allow him lots of room to work his patented Phoenix-agony. (I think I'm tearing up a little bit at the mere thought of watching him.) Appearing opposite Phoenix -- and, based on the plot summary, matching him angst-for-angst -- will be Mark Ruffalo as the tortured/hunted driver.*

The film, the first to come out of a new deal between Focus Features and Random House, will be directed by Terry George, who also did some late work on the screenplay. Production begins this fall.

*The IMDb also lists Jennifer Connelly in the cast, but that's not been confirmed by any industry sources.

Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• In what's sure to be a powerful follow-up to 2004's Hotel Rwanda, director Terry George is set to take on the story of a different battle. This time, instead of traveling to war torn Rwanda, he's visiting any town USA. George has signed on to direct Reservation Road, an adaptation of Jonathan Burnham Schwartz's novel. Pic, which was also penned by Schwartz, surrounds two families who collide when one father accidentally kills the son of the other father in a horrible hit and run accident. While one father tries to hide from the event, afraid of facing the harsh consequences of his actions, the other makes it his mission to find the unknown man who killed his son.
• Hey look, Ryan Reynolds is still acting! Shouldn't there be a petition online by now preventing him from scarring us any further? If not, can we start one? Universal Pictures have just picked up Adam Brooks' script Definitely, Maybe, lining up Reynolds, Derek Luke and Isla Fisher to star in the romantic comedy. Reynolds will play a soon-to-be divorced political consultant who struggles to answer some hard questions from his 11-year-old daughter about his past relationships. Politics and fatherhood? This one should be easy for Reynolds to screw up.
• While doing press for the upcoming My Super Ex-Girlfriend, director Ivan Reitman talked a bit about his first directorial effort in five years, while also dishing out some info about the highly anticipated Old School 2. That's right, they're back ... and they're even older! While Reitman will once again be producing the sequel, he did say Scott Armstrong and director Todd Phillips were currently working on the script. However, since the three lead actors (Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson) have come a long way since then, substantially increasing their price tag, Reitman said the whole thing comes down to whether Dreamworks can afford it. Personally, I see no need for an Old School 2. The first one was fine, leave it alone. Spend the money on something more original for once. Please. For the sake of comedy, I beg you.