The Rock Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Whenever I get into a debate about the future of action movies, not five minutes goes by before someone brings up how Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has stomped on their soul. His propensity for Disney films and tutus has dismayed those who saw him as this generation's Schwarzenegger. While he's not one of my favorite actors, there's no denying he's got charisma, and I was hoping that 20,000 Leagues rumor would come true and save him from foppish comedy. Happily, he may have looked at his resume and decided it had a little too much camp and not enough muscle, because Variety reports that he's set to star in CBS Films' Faster with George Tillman Jr. directing.

Faster boasts a comforting, meat-and-potatoes action plot: Johnson will play an ex-con who is hell bent on avenging his brother's murder. Lest you think he's a wrongfully imprisoned ex-con, this looks to be a tale of honor among thieves, as Johnson and his brother were double crossed during a heist. One went to jail, the other went to the morgue, and Johnson's coming for those responsible. Good times with guns will be had by all.

Production is set to begin in January 2010. As you pass posters for The Tooth Fairy (which arrives in theaters at the very same time), you can take comfort that he's violently making up for it. Even if it's not as bloody as you might hope, at least there's no possible way he can wear a tutu in it.

Fans of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and haters of Will Smith may have cause to rejoice. Production Weekly is reporting that Johnson will be taking the helm of the Nautilus as Captain Nemo for McG's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea reboot/prequel. As Disney appears to own Johnson's soul, this does have the ring of truth to it, and it's also the proof you need that this will be a shameless popcorn prequel, not a Pirates sort of risk that could launch a guy like Naveen Andrews, Oded Fehr, or Alexander Siddig into becoming a household name. (See, I read the comments!)

However, I do like Johnson and I have shared the dismay of action fans everywhere by his startling addiction to kiddie fare and tutus. It would be nice to see him kick ass again, and he certainly has the charisma and swashbuckle to play the Captain. Complexity probably isn't going to be an issue, especially given the official PW synopsis: "A fugitive whaler teams up with a naturalist, a mysterious woman and a captain of a futuristic submarine, to search for a lost underwater civilization that holds libraries of vast knowledge and a weapon with the power to destroy mankind."

Production is set to begin in Australia later this year and with McG set to do the final round of Terminator: Salvation press, maybe we'll get an official cast update. It has potential to be something fun if they get a good ensemble, but your cynicism may vary.

Ah, another week, another jumble to the calendar -- specifically, to 20th Century Fox's release slate.

According to Box Office Mojo, the studio has moved The Tooth Fairy back from November 13th to next January (because where else are you going to stick a Dwayne-Johnson-as-hockey-player-as-tooth-fairy outing?), and Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox has moved back a week from 11/6 to 11/13 as their choice contender for the family dollar. This now places it right after Disney and Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol (really, the first week of November?) and just before Warners' Cats & Dogs sequel (really, the second movie of Cats & Dogs?).

I'm not sure how much Johnson's recent Race to Witch Mountain cost, but I can't help but think that he'd like to outperform that film's good-not-great $60-ish million gross, and January could be just the grounds to do that in. (Paul Blart: Mall Cop opened within a week of the proposed new date and has raked in... almost $144 million? Yep, over $140 million.) Mr. Fox, on the other hand, is a mainstream proving ground for the ever-quirky Anderson, and with a voice cast that includes George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, and Anjelica Huston, let's hope it has reason to top the $28 million gross of that last animated adaptation of a Roald Dahl book, 1996's James and the Giant Peach.

But of course, none of that matters, because the real news is that Sandra Bullock's apparent psychological thriller rom-com All About Steve has found itself a home on September 4th. Sure, it's a little early in the awards season to stake a claim, but I'll leave the for-your-consideration campaign in their hands...

The world of Jonny Quest was never typical -- How many young tykes go on hair-raising adventures unless they're The Venture Brothers? -- but the casting for this sucker sure is.

Word of a Jonny Quest movie first hit back in August of 2007, and in his post, Erik said: "will Zac Efron dye his hair blonde and play Jonny?!" Then Peter Segal was talking up the project, and musing that The Rock should place Race Bannon. Now, Moviehole reports that Dwayne Johnson is definitely Bannon, and Efron is in line to play Jonny, although he's not a lock due to Efron's advanced, 17-year-old age. While I can see the allure, that's a big change to add into the mix.

Then again, I'm sure there are a lot of changes to be made. I mean, they can't talk about the productive perks of hallucinogenic drugs these days, and it wouldn't be very PC to keep Hadji as the turbaned magic kid. This all just leads me to the same conclusion: The Rock might be a good choice for Bannon, but they might as well go for a newer project, one that takes the ideas of Quest and morphs it for a modern audience. Oh right, that's already been done.

I almost called this a 'Watch This' post, and then a 'Fan Rant', but either way, the general idea is that I'd recommend all of you to tune in or at least record PBS tonight for the broadcast premiere of Nina Davenport's terrific documentary, Operation Filmmaker, in which a young Iraqi film student is invited to work on the set of Liev Schreiber's Everything is Illuminated and how that experience begins to unravel for all involved -- Davenport included (and that's not to mention appearances from Elijah Wood and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as themselves!).

It's fascinating in the purest trainwreck sense, and deserves to be paired up with Overnight and shown to all fledgling filmmakers as a guide for what NOT to do when all manner of opportunities are offered to you in the field. Davenport's correlations to the Iraqi conflict as her subject becomes less and less cooperative are still shaky at best, but that doesn't stop this doc from making my Top Twenty of the year.

And nothing against Dear Zachary..., but I'm pretty sure that this doc won't have you in tears by the end. Check your local listings, though: some have said 10 PM EST, others 11 PM.

A week ago, I finally tore through Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' acclaimed graphic novel, Watchmen, which I'd only recently prompted myself to make the time for after years of recommendations (the recurring threat of ending spoilers for a movie that I'd inevitably see was a catalyst unto itself).

It really is a tremendous work, and I'm as curious as anyone else to see how Zack Snyder's film turns out, but the one comparison that I kept coming back to was how much Watchmen reminded me of Richard Kelly's much-maligned Southland Tales, with each being a sprawling tale of an alternate reality in which several narrative threads are building towards the threat of a looming apocalypse.

Between that and the news of Kelly's latest being pushed back, I find myself tempted to give it another look-see -- especially since my first viewing wasn't exactly held in the most proper of environments. I'm sure that there's a method to Kelly's madness, but it's an indulgent, unpredictable film whose very story density I enjoyed more in and of itself. I doubt that I'd share those sentiments if instead first subjected to the three-hour Cannes cut, but if that version were ever released, I wouldn't be against giving it a spin. (My overall sentiments fall closer to Jette's.)

So, what say you, the readers? Did you see it? Did you finish it? Love it? Hate it? Or maybe, just maybe, did some of you land somewhere in between? (And for bonus points, what don't pimps do?)

From the star, director and studio behind The Game Plan comes... another movie pairing up Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson with kids! Okay, this one -- Race to Witch Mountain, a remake of Disney's own Escape to Witch Mountain from 1975 -- seems a fair bit more tolerable than that one was, as cab driver Johnson is forced to team up with UFO expert Carla Gugino on an unexpected mission to get two unique children (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) to the above-mentioned location of their spaceship.

A couple of things should be said for the trailer, which we've included after the jump.

1. There is an unavoidable watermark on it, but other than that, it seems to be a fully digital trailer and not bootlegged from sneaks of Bolt this past Saturday. (Okay, I get it: Star Trek is Star Trek... and you know who else pulls a very similar 'letting a vehicle crumple around you' trick? Bolt does.)
2. Said watermark and the YouTube premiere suggests that this hasn't been officially released by the studio yet, so I'd be willing to bet that this trailer gets taken down by the end of the day. Good luck!
3. More power to Johnson for throwing himself wholly into work like this, even if we can already see his character growing out of skepticism and towards accountability over the course of these two minutes. (Besides, Brendan Fraser can't hold a monopoly on all the family adventure hero roles.)

With that said, thanks to Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel for digging this up, and onto the trailer! Race to Witch Mountain opens next March.

Keira Knightley has to be getting fed up with those cumbersome period costumes. I mean, it helps that she's a waif and doesn't really need to worry about corset issues, but the wardrobe is still not all that pleasant to climb into. After being a Duchess, and heading into Lear-land, Variety reports that Keira Knightley is going to star in a new film called Last Night. (No, this isn't a re-do of Don McKellar's film.) Starring Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington, and Guillaume Canet, the film focuses on a married couple with cheating temptations -- he spends time with a colleague he's attracted to, while she comes across her past love. (Sounds just like a moment out of My So-Called LIfe. You know.. Angela's mom hunting down her ex while her dad lusts for that Lowenthal woman.) The production will begin next month in New York. Can Knightley handle modern fare these days? Weigh in below!

Now, this next news isn't Pirates related, but still Disney-riffic. Variety reports that Dwayne Johnson -- aka The Rock -- is going to help turn another Disney ride into another big film. Forget Mr. Toad's Wild Ride; Johnson is taking on Tomorrowland. Disney is creating a space-centric starring vehicle for the actor, and they swear it's not based on Tomorrowland, but Variety seems to be sure. I say: If they do that, I want my Figment!

Finally, Carrie Fisher is getting herself some interesting work. While Princess Leia is being pretty mellow these days, The Hollywood Reporter posts that she is in negotiations to star in Sorority Row with Jamie Chung and Audrina Patridge. Yes, this is a remake of the ol' '80s flick The House on Sorority Row. Not surprisingly, Fisher would be the house's sorority mother if she signs on the dotted line. Will we ever get a moment to see her in a nice role again, and not a goofy cameo? Han Solo needs to come and save her from mediocre work.

I think this is going to be one of the greatest cinematic pair-ups of all time -- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Julie Andrews. I may be exaggerating a tad, but I am deadly serious. I really can't think of anything more charming, and it's really happening according to The Hollywood Reporter. (Editorial note: It's almost as crazy as Vin Diesel and Judi Dench! --SW)

The immortal Ms. Andrews is joining the cast of Tooth Fairy, which Ashley Judd joined just days ago. As mentioned in Peter's earlier post, Johnson plays a minor-league hockey player named Derek Thompson who has a tendency to knock out the teeth of his opponents. His inherent meanness causes him to crush some child's vague hope, presumably in the Tooth Fairy herself, and he gets sentenced to one week's hard labor as a real tooth fairy. And yes, that's complete with wings, tutu, magic wand, and lots of glitter. Somehow, the gig makes him rediscover his own hopes and dreams, quite possibly of a life in dentistry rather than minor league hockey.

Andrews will play Lily, a high-ranking and cutting supervisor of tooth fairies. If she does not have a beautiful fairy costume, I'll be angry. Suffering her biting wit will be Stephen Merchant, of The Office and Extras fame, who hasn't earned his wings and must act as Thompson's case worker.

As silly as the film sounds, it does have a good cast. My interest is unashamedly piqued now, because I adore Andrews, and I want to see her browbeat The Rock and force him into pink outfits. Also, I think there is humor to be milked from how gross the job of a tooth fairy really is. My mom still reminds us how disgusting it was to try and retrieve our bloody teeth from under our pillow. See? Hilarity!

There's no way around it: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson owes at least some of his fame to the way his dominating figure fits the blockbuster action stereotype with near-mechanical sleekness. However, he also offers an alternative to that reductive perspective. Looking sharp in a business suit and speaking with the relaxed professional discipline of a CEO, Johnson showed up at a screening of Get Smart on Sunday at the CineVegas Film Festival displaying sheer confidence. The screening took place at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, where Johnson had recently acted in Race to Witch Mountain ("We just added to the chaos," he said), but on this visit, Johnson got a chance to remind people that he's not just a one-note performer, but someone who plays an active role in the international film community (not to mention the health community, since The Rock Foundation pushes obesity prevention).

Outside of his supremely meta performance in Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, Johnson has made his interests in adventurous cinema increasingly clear, and boldly champions independent artists. You can get a small glimpse of this aspect of his personality in Operation Filmmaker, documentarian Nina Davenport's account of an Iraqi filmmaker named Muthana Mohmed whose aspirations tragically fall short of the expectations surrounding him. Landing the opportunity to work for Liev Schreiber on the set of Everything is Illuminated, the 25-year-old Mohmed grows increasingly frustrated with the boring tasks given to him, and continually blows opportunities as a result of his unbalanced work ethic.