The Grackle Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I think David O. Russell is a masochist.

He stirs up drama on set that makes shooting tense, but even more to the point: After spending much of the last year with the struggle to get Nailed shot, he's going for a project that's been in limbo for two years. The Hollywood Reporter posts that the director is in negotiations to helm The Grackle. If you have a really good memory and have been following Cinematical closely for the last few years, you might remember when the project got cooking with Matthew McConaughey in June of 2006.

First described as a film about "a Southern jack-of-all-trades hired 'by those who have trouble fighting for themselves,'" Grackle is now being described as a "New Orleans-set comedy [that] centers on a barroom fighter who helps clients settle legal disputes with his fists." Well, if anyone can make a weird premise like that into an great movie, it would be Russell. He might be hot-headed and argumentative, but the guy knows how to make excellent films.

But will it get off the ground this time?

In a million years, I never thought this day would come. It's unbelievable and, honestly, I'm totally flattered. You're probably wondering why I'm so excited, and I'm happy to share with you the following fantastic news: Fox Atomic is making a movie about me! Seriously, I'm just about as shocked as you are. In fact, I had no idea this whole thing was going down until I read Variety this morning. Yeah, way to keep the pic's main character in the loop, right?

The film is called Captain Awesome (ie: yours truly), and Fox Atomic has just picked up the script. Written by Mike Arnold and Chris Poole, the high-concept plot is currently being kept under wraps, but folks are leaning towards it being about some dude who writes for Cinematical by day and transforms into an awesome superhero at night. I mean, that's if they decide to use me as the pic's main focus -- after all, "Captain Awesome" was the nickname my doctor gave me at birth. Mark O'Connor has come onboard to produce, which marks his second time working with the writing duo. Arnold and Poole (who are lawyers by day and screenwriters by night) recently sold a spec called The Grackle, with Matthew McConaughey reportedly attached to star.

No word yet on casting for Captain Awesome, but the filmmakers should know that they're going to have to work around my schedule here at Cinematical. That's right, my loyalty is with them ... but I'll be happy to show up on set and help the actors get into character.

After already signing him onto one film, New Line is once again in negotiations with Matthew McConaughey with hopes the actor will star in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. As Martha told you the other day, the actor is attached to play the lead in a film called The Grackle, which was written by two lawyers. While there wasn't much of a description available at the time, leaving us wondering what exactly two lawyers would write about (other than another sequel to Jaws), it now appears more information has surfaced.

Apparently, McConaughey will play a barroom fighter in New Orleans who hires himself out to help "settle disputes" for people too poor to afford a lawyer. Ahh, now I see the connection -- Richard Dreyfuss was in Jaws and also played a lawyer in Night Falls on Manhattan. Becomes crystal clear when you think about it.

As far as this Ghosts of Girlfriends Past goes, pic was originally scheduled to shoot in 2003, with Ben Affleck attached to star. However, things fell through and now New Line wants to snatch the project from Disney, who have been developing it for quite some time. McConaughey starring depends on whether or not that deal actually happens. Story centers around a man who attends his friend's bachelor party, only to be haunted by, well, take a wild guess. If all goes well, the film could be released sometime during the holiday season in 2007.

I don't know if they have grackles where you live, but let me tell you: They're possibly the foulest birds of all time. (Yes, even grosser than marabou storks, assuming marabou storks don't have particularly repellent personal odors of which I'm unaware, or something.) They're medium-sized and black, but with a nasty shine to them, and they make an incredibly annoying, crackling noise all the time, like "Yeah, bitches. That's right -- I'm infesting your yard. What're you gonna do about it?"

Given that the first impulse most of us have is to throw rocks at them, one wonders why a comedy script about a human version of the creatures by two first-timers would lead to a bidding war and, ultimately, sell for over a million bucks, but there you go. The Grackle -- written by two attorneys, no less -- has been picked up by New Line, and Matthew McConaughey is already on board to both produce and star as the title character who, it's been suggested (the plot of the story is being kept secret by the paranoid people at New Line), is "a Southern jack-of-all-trades hired 'by those who have trouble fighting for themselves.'"

TMZ seems to think that New Line is high enough on this movie to actually get it made; we'll let you know if we ever hear anything about it again.