TheWeinsteinCo. Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Sin City is the series that just can't catch a break. Last week, IESB.net was reporting that the Weinstein Company / Dimension had lost the rights to Sin City, and that the franchise was being quietly shopped around. The rumors were hotly denied by the Weinsteins ... but now The Hollywood Reporter is saying the same darn thing.

While the Weinsteins continue to maintain that they hold the rights, producers all around town are saying that Frank Miller's "estate" has been shopping around those same rights. It's unclear if they have lapsed due to the failure to renew or move on the property, but it seems strange that they could have expired so soon.

This is a rumor that I think we all hope comes true. I'd like to see Sin City land at a studio willing to actually put A Dame to Kill For into production instead of just talking about it. It's been four (count 'em, four) years since Sin City, with "production starting in a matter of weeks!" reports being issued every three months or so. The talent remains enthusiastic and attached. Fans are clamoring for the rest of the sleazy series. It's a no brainer for any other studio, but the Weinstein Company seems to believe delaying films until the end of the world is a sound business principle.

What would you like to see ultimately happen with the next Sin City movie, and who do you think would take the best care of it?

Just as the Inglourious Basterds teaser talk died down, and "I want my scalps!" faded from Facebook and Twitter updates comes "Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France ..."

Yep, Basterds has a new tagline, and we've got something else to whet your appetite for Nazi carnage, as three brand new bloody posters have debuted online. Their origin is a little murky -- Empire is claiming them as an exclusive, as is IGN and Ain't It Cool News, but they're here now, and can be found in our Basterds gallery:





Striking, aren't they? Everyone will have a favorite! (Mine's the rifle.) Whatever you think of the teaser, you can't deny that they're a little bit brilliant. Quentin Tarantino's posters are always things of beauty, and especially welcome in a world of increasingly bland and Photoshopped floating heads. Will these become staples of dorm rooms and film fanatic dens like the Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Kill Bill posters have? In fact, if you're one of those who still has Pulp Fiction framed on your wall, I suggest you replace it with one (or all) of these. Not only will guests assume that by idolizing Tarantino you know buckets about grindhouse cinema and spaghetti westerns, they'll also realize you're in favor of Nazi smackdowns and scalpings. You'll be the coolest person they know.

Interviews with Viggo Mortensen are a rather rare and wonderful thing -- or at least ones that don't get all coy and snarky over his remarkable intelligence and publishing company. So, when I saw Capone's interview with Mortensen over at Ain't It Cool News, I had to share it with you all.

His thoughts on the upcoming Good are too long and interesting to crop and paste here -- but what I will post is his disappointment over The Road being delayed. Despite starring in the film, he is unsure what's going on with it. "My understanding is that they know that they've got a story that a lot of people want to see, because of the book. And, the people that read the book, which are many, were very moved by it and by this relationship between this boy and this man, in particular, in that setting. And, I think that they are really aware of the fact that they've got one chance to do it, and if there's any little things that they still want to work on a little more, to get it just right, whether it's the music --I don't know what it is -- a variety of things, they want to do it right. And, if you rush it out before you feel in good conscience it's there ... So, I am disappointed. I wanted to see it. I want to see how it is."

He's also concerned that the film might be released at the wrong time of year, and is hoping for a fall release. "What I hope they don't do is then just put it out in February or something. I hope they wait and do it at the right time. I don't know." (Yes, Weinstein Co. Release The Road in the fall, please. No February or March dump!)

As I mention every chance I get, we at Cinematical looooove Steve Conrad's scrappy little comedy The Promotion. And now we have the official poster (courtesy of those folks over at The Weinstein Co.), which contains the words that are music to our ears: "Coming This June." Of course it's a Weinstein Co. special, so you never know, but this is certainly a good sign. The film recently had a promo screening here in Philadelphia (probably another good sign), and I convinced a few prominent local critics to attend. That means that if they didn't like it, they probably now hate me. But so be it.

According to the Weinstein Co. website, The Promotion -- which remains my favorite film of the year -- has an official release date of June 6th. And if you promise to go see it, I promise I'll shut up about it for a while.

Depending on which source you believe -- there's about a ten-thousand dollar difference -- Grindhouse is either holding onto the tenth spot for the weekend or it has slipped into eleventh place, behind Wild Hogs. With Friday estimates included, the film's total cume is $16.7 million; that gives it a second-weekend drop of 74%, which is just terrible any way you slice it. The per-screen average for the film is $494, which as Deadline Hollywood points out, means its "playing in near-empty theaters." If these numbers hold for Saturday, then more Americans will have turned out this weekend to see Redline, which is a movie I never gave a moment's thought to until I had to edit a review that someone did for this website yesterday, than Grindhouse, which arrived in theaters with major advertising campaign fully supported by the national media and all of the fanboy-support that the online community can muster. Wow.

I don't expect the failure of Grindhouse to have any effect on Robert Rodriguez's career, frankly. He is currently prepping Sin City 2, which is a film that will undoubtedly do big business and be well-received and erase memories of Grindhouse, but I wonder how the failure will affect Quentin Tarantino. Are the Weinsteins going to gamble on fronting his war movie, Inglorious Bastards, or are they going to gently push him towards a less expensive-sounding endeavor? Will they chalk this whole thing up to the bad taste of the American public and continue to support their signature star, much the way Warner Bros. supported Stanley Kubrick all those years? I certainly hope so.

In an attempt to grab a taste of every niche market out there, the Weinstein boys are looking to go where no Jew has gone before -- their forming a faith-based distribution label, and have partnered with Christian shingle Impact Entertainment on a first-look production deal. Yes folks, the Weinstens are on a quest to find Jesus in hopes the man will bring them lots and lots of money. Is it just me, or is this whole deal just a tiny bit odd? Then again, the Weinsteins are businessmen, and if there's a hungry audience out there, you bet they're going after them -- regardless of whether or not they celebrate Chanukah.

In a deal that's similar to the one they forged with Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson (oh yes, the boys have officially gone urban as well), The Weinstein Co. will finance, co-produce and distribute approximately six theatrical titles per year, as well as a number of straight-to-DVD releases through their homevid label Genius Products. Oh, but they're not the first giants to jump into the holy water-filled pool, Fox has already announced their own faith-based division, FoxFaith, in which the studio will help distribute (but not produce) 12 films per year.

The first two theatrical gigs for TWC will be adaptations of The Penny, by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford, and The Christmas Candle, by Max Lucado. Says Bob Weinstein about the deal, "This is a rapidly emerging and important area in the entertainment industry, and this deal fits perfectly into our strategy of acquiring and producing films that target niche audiences." I have no problem with that, so long as they eventually throw us Jews a bone too. Oh wait, perhaps that's asking a bit too much from a couple of boys named Weinstein. Oh well.

Okay, so here's a film that should strike a chord with anyone who's ever dated a cheater, a player, a pimp or, well ... you get the idea. The Weinstein Co. has snatched up the spec script Muskrat Love as a potential directing vehicle for Andy Fickman (She's the Man). Launchpad Prods. and Underground Entertainment will help produce.

Written by Martin Sweeney, story follows an egotistical hot shot who is injected with monogamy serum by the best friend of a girl he recently shoved to the curb. Assuming they snag a dynamite actor for the lead role (I know he's in everything, but I could see Vince Vaughn tapping into his excellent Swingers performance and doing a fabulous job ... baby), then Muskrat Love could end up as a spicier (and perhaps a bit edgier) version of Liar Liar. If that's the case, then I'm definitely there.

According to Variety, there are several new projects in the works from the Weinstein Co.:

• The Weinstein boys are in talks with Lasse Hallström (who helmed The Shipping News and Chocolat) to direct Rain in Spain, which may star the enchanting Penelope Cruz.
• Danny Boyle, director of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, is being brought on to direct Solomon Grundy, based on a Dan Gooch book which is described as a literary fantasy novel based on the classic poem. The book has been adapted for the screen by Robert Nelson Jacobs, who is also working on the Marvel Comics adaptation of Werewolf By Night.
• Shooting will commence this spring on an as yet unnamed musical from Rob Marshall, who brought Chicago to the big screen and Annie to the small.
• As previously reported, The Great Debaters will be directed by Denzel Washington. The IMDB describes the story as, "A drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship."
• Commencing shooting next spring in South Africa will be The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency from Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr. Ripley). Based on the novel by Alexander McCall Smith, this is the tale of the first female detective in Botswana.
• And it seems that the modern superhero film has been around long enough to warrant its own parody (My Super Ex-Girlfriend doesn't count as it was a comedy, but not a parody). No real details available, but the title will be Superhero!

[via Coming Soon]

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• After already lending their voices to the animated short film Igor: Unholy Frijoles, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater and John Cleese have signed on to reprise their roles for the feature film based on the same character. This past winter, The Weinstein Co. picked up all North American distribution rights for the animated film which follows the hunchbacked lab assistant of a mad scientist who dreams of winning the Evil Scientist Fair. Slater will, once again, voice the lead role of Igor, with Buscemi playing an intelligent, sarcastic lab rabbit and Cleese taking on Igor's evil master.
• New Line is attempting to pump some life back into its remake of the classic 1940 comedy, I Love You Again. The original, which starred Myrna Loy and William Powell, tells the story of a business man who, after building a nice life for himself, realizes he's been suffering from amnesia for the past seven years and used to be a con man. Studio has now tapped the writing team of Bob Hilgenberg and Rob Muir to pen the script, after striking a deal for the remake back in 2004 and assigning it to scribe Andrew Bergman. With Adam Sandler's Happy Madison involved, unfortunately, I'd look for Rob Schneider's name to pop up soon.
• The always reliable, yet often spooky John Malkovich will star alongside Jeremy Sisto in Gardens of the Night, to be directed by Damian Harris. Pic will delve deep into the world of child abduction following an 8-year-old boy and girl who are taken from their homes and told their families do not want them anymore. After being held hostage for nine years, the two are suddenly set free and must find a way to survive on the streets. Production will begin next month in San Diego and Los Angeles.