When I first posted about the film back in November, I said that the upcoming Clive Owen and Julia Roberts-starring Duplicity filled me with curiosity and dread. The curiosity (and a little excitement, I must admit) came from the fact that it was re-teaming two stars from Closer -- a film I really enjoy. On the other hand, I hear "Duplicity," and I think of the similar-sounding Derailed. That makes me want to run for my life. (Famous last words said before watching the latter: It's got Owen. It can't be all bad.)

All that said, there's two more great actors joining the cast, which should start to erase those Derailed fears. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Tom Wilkinson and Billy Bob Thornton are looking into joining the cast. (Wilkinson is in negotiations, and THR doesn't say whether BB has officially signed on yet.) This will re-team Wilkinson with Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy, who also wrote the script, so I imagine he'll sign on the dotted line soon enough -- Tom's role in the film did nab him an Oscar nod for supporting actor, after all.

The thriller focuses on Roberts and Owen's characters, "who are longtime lovers and rival corporate spies who team to pull off an elaborate con." (Sounds like Mr. & Mrs. Smith meets Ocean's 11.) Wilkinson is set to play the CEO of a large company, while Thornton's role is said to be "a more maverick type of CEO." The film will shoot this spring in the Big Apple.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:

Casey Affleck -- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Javier Bardem -- No Country for Old Men

Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Charlie Wilson's War

John Travolta -- Hairspray

Tom Wilkinson -- Michael Clayton

Predicted Winner: Javier Bardem

Once in awhile there comes to cinema a character, and a performance that goes with it, that goes on to haunt us for years. Such a timeless villain is played in No Country for Old Men by Javier Bardem. It's the actor's third Golden Globe nomination and will be his first win. How do I know? Here at Cinematical headquarters we were going to toss a coin to find out if Bardem would get the statue. But then we realized that this award isn't about chance (plus we were afraid of getting an air blast to the skull if it came up that he'd lose). Bardem will win because he deserves the award, because his is the most well-developed and most memorable performance of the bunch.

Now it's your turn to vote ...

I was a little hard on the International Press Academy last year, but they made some ridiculous decisions when handing out their Satellite Awards. Still, at least they came off as being different than every other year-end awards giver by picking winners like Joseph Cross and X-Men: The Last Stand (best comedic actor and best editing, respectively). Those are at least some interesting, unpredictable picks, right? This year, I feel the need to be harder on the organization, because it's gone totally predictable in honoring No Country for Old Men, Juno, Sicko, American Gangster, Ratatouille, Diablo Cody and Christopher Hampton, among others. The actors they honored -- Marion Cotillard, Viggo Mortensen, Ellen Page, Ryan Gosling, Tom Wilkinson/Casey Affleck (tied) and Amy Ryan -- aren't all the most obvious choices, but they aren't shocking, either. Couldn't they have at least gone with nominee Clive Owen or his nominated "comedy or musical" Shoot 'Em Up (!?!?!?), or something?

Not that the winners aren't deserving, but what good is yet another awards ceremony if it's not going to distinguish itself from the Golden Globes, which are the Satellite's unrecognized yet unmistakable "baby daddy". Yeah, the Hollywood Foreign Press will likely go with some other winners, but they won't seem that different. Again, I do salute the IPA for having a documentary category, though it wouldn't have hurt to give The King of Kong its one possible prestigious(?) award -- not that it was actually a better film than fellow nominee No End in Sight. Also, it's always enjoyable to see what the IPA picks for best DVDs (The Prestige for overall; Borat and Masters of Horror Season 1 (tied) for extras; Ratatouille for youth-oriented; Ken Burns' The War for documentary; The Graduate 40th Anniversary Edition for classic). For the rest of the nominees and winners, head over to Variety.

The release dates, they are a-changing! Universal just moved the release of the action flick Wanted, which stars Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy, from March to June 27th, 2008. That June release date was also held by Pixar's new one, WALL-E, and the Tom Cruise "Hitler assassination plot" flick -- Valkyrie. According to Coming Soon, Valkyrie has officially budged (though I think it would have absolutely crushed Wanted and it's courting a different audience than Wall-E). United Artists will now release the film on October 3rd of 2008 -- a date also held by less intense competition -- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Guy Ritchie's Gerald Butler drama RocknRolla.

Valkyrie is directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Nathan Alexander. Tom Cruise has become everyone's favorite punching bag lately, and reaction to the trailer, particularly Cruise's lack of a German accent, was pretty hostile. (Although probably not as hostile as it would have been had he...attempted a German accent!) But the plot sounds awesome, Singer is a great director (Superman Returns aside), and it's got a hell of a cast -- including Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Stephen Fry, Eddie lzzard, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, and Black Book's stunning Carice Van Houton. How bad could it be? It's got to be better than Wanted -- have you seen the trailer for that thing? Haven't I seen that movie, oh, a thousand times already?

I was talking with a friend the other day about the shocking decline in the quality of Kevin Spacey's films. It seems as though that Oscar for American Beauty was some sort of horrific curse, sending him into a long run of ill-advised, disastrous movie projects. Look at the man's filmography pre and then post Beauty. It's distressing! But Variety is reporting on a flick that sounds like it might turn things around. HBO Films' Recount will tell the story of the Florida results in the 2000 election, one of the most controversial political events of recent years. As Monika recently told you, Sydney Pollack was supposed to direct but dropped out due to "an undisclosed illness." Jay Roach, a director primarily known for broad comedy (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Meet the Parents, and their lesser sequels), will now direct. Danny Strong wrote the screenplay. The film will document "the legal and political maneuvering from the point of view of both the Bush and Gore camps."

Spacey will star as Ron Klain, "former chief of staff to vice president Al Gore and one of the lead attorneys who challenged the voting results in Florida." In addition to Spacey, Recount has lined up one hell of a supporting cast: Laura Dern will play Katherine Harris, the Florida secretary of state who certified that George W. Bush had won the state. Denis Leary (what went wrong on this season of Rescue Me, DL?) plays Michael Whouley, a Democrat pollster. John Hurt plays Warren Christopher, a key player for Gore. Tom Wilkinson plays James Baker, brought in by the Republicans to see that the disputed results held up. And two Christopher Guest alums will duke it out in the courtroom. Ed Begley, Jr will play David Boies, the lawyer who appealed the results and argued for the Democrats. Bob Balaban plays Ben Ginsberg, head attorney for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. See what I mean about that supporting cast? You won't have to demand a Recount -- look for the film on HBO during the 2008 presidential election.

It's probably no secret by now that Germans have a 'complicated' relationship with superstar Tom Cruise. But they seem to be softening just a little. Variety reports that Bryan Singer's Valkyrie will be given the go-ahead to film at the historic location of Bendlerblock; a memorial shrine to the German officers who conspired to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and the location of their executions. The site is maintained by the German finance ministry and initial requests from director Bryan Singer to film on location at the site were refused. According to Thorsten Albig, a spokesman for the finance ministry, "The latest request by the film team was given a positive answer...There was a different feeling about the project. We will take a closer look with director Bryan Singer at the location and, while ensuring that the dignity of the shrine is protected, see what's possible and what's not".

Valkyrie is the story of Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, and the failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944. Joining Cruise are Tom Wilkinson, Bill Neighy, and Kenneth Branagh. Written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Nathan Alexander, the historical drama has had its share of complaints from both antecedents of von Stauffenberg as well as those who were worried that Cruise would be using the film to promote Scientology. But according to Variety, opinions have changed, saying that the initial refusal to allow Singer into Bendlerblock "...sparked a wave of support for the film from leading German newspaper columnists and filmmakers, including Wolfgang Petersen. They admonished their countrymen for being small minded, ignoring the chance to share von Stauffenberg's story with a global audience and demonstrate that there was in fact resistance to Hitler". Valkyrie is currently shooting on location in Berlin, and set for release on June 27th, 2008.

When the lights dim and the first moments shine upon the screen, you know that you're watching a Woody Allen film. That classic font smiles, and we quickly get the cast of characters. There's no long, music-laden intro -- just a quick rundown of the top names and then into the story. That's where the similarities to classic Allen die, though, but maybe it's time to stop comparing Allen to the works of his past. Over his last few films, the filmmaker has broken out of the mold. This time around, however, the mold might have helped keep things together. Cassandra's Dream is an interesting but superficial film that isn't sure if it wants to be a light drama or a dark comedy.

Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor star as brothers Terry and Ian. Terry is a mechanic with a penchant for gambling, while Ian is a wannabe businessman who bides his time in the family restaurant while he waits for his big financial break. Terry has been having quite the winning streak -- he keeps betting himself into a corner, and then comes out with a big win every time. After betting on a race dog with 60-1 odds at the races, he comes into a bit of money, and he and his brother buy a boat that they name 'Cassandra's Dream', after the winning dog. Ian, meanwhile, runs into a beautiful actress named Angela (Hayley Atwell), who is having car troubles on the side of the road, and he falls hard.

The international trailer for Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream has arrived on a French website, complete with subtitles, and I have sort of a mixed reaction to it. It seems like a poor trailer for what might be a great movie. The clip doesn't really give us a clear understanding of exactly how the brothers, Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor, get into deep money troubles -- some kind of gambling debts? -- but it does seem pretty clear that the film is going to have a body count in the same way Match Point had one, which can only be a good thing, considering how good that film was.

Also, after watching the trailer, I have a feeling that Colin Farrell might be the revelation here. These days it's almost hard to remember that he used to be considered a rising acting talent, with movies like Tigerland under his belt. Lately he's been known more for tabloid exploits and for Alexander, Phone Booth, Ask the Dust and assorted other bad choices, but somehow I think this part is going to give him some opportunities he might run with.

Tom Wilkinson also seems to have an interesting role in the film, but the real question mark is Hayley Atwell. Woody is clearly trying to launch her as a star with this movie, but who knows if he'll succeed. (What I've seen of her so far isn't terribly impressive.) Cassandra's Dream is premiering at the Venice Film Festival and then moving on to Toronto, where Woody will be on hand to hopefully dole out a few interviews and maybe give some new information about his next film, Midnight in Barcelona.

If I really scour my memory, I can vaguely remember the excitement that Guy Ritchie used to incite with his films. God, it has been seven years since I last went to the theater to see one of his movies -- Snatch. Yet no matter what cinematic pitfalls he has suffered since then, he's got one heck of a cast lined up for his next film -- RocknRolla. Variety has just announced the cast, which consists of Gerard Butler (300), Tom Wilkinson (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Thandie Newton (Crash), Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges (Hustle & Flow) and Idris Elba (The Reaping). (No, surprisingly, there's no Jason Statham anywhere to be seen.) Not only is this cast much better than Madonna, but it's pretty great in its own regard!

Erik Davis first posted about RocknRolla last month, when word hit that Ritchie was writing and directing another feature in the vein of his big successes -- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. The film is about a Russian mobster who coordinates "a crooked land deal, putting millions of dollars up for grabs and attracting all of London's criminal underworld." If this cast is the collection of criminals, this is looking to be a group reminiscent of the pirate kings in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean, but with much more recognizable faces. The budget on this puppy is under $20 million, it has already started production and will be done in his classic "fast-paced, low-budget style." Now, will it sweep away that really bad offering and get him back on track as the guru of bad arses, or will Dark Castle Entertainment and Warner Bros. have a stinker on their hands?

I don't know what to think about Tom Cruise playing a German general, but at least he'll be well-supported in Bryan Singer's Valkyrie, which is about an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler during WWII. Last week we learned that rising star Carice van Houten, who just so happens to be my new favorite actress, is on board, possibly as Cruise's character's wife. The only other confirmed member of the cast had been Kenneth Branagh, seemingly as much a fan of playing Nazi as he is of playing Shakespeare. Now we have an official announcement that two of my favorite actors, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy, are also part of the ensemble. The pair was already listed on the IMDb as being "in negotiations" (as are Patrick Wilson and Stephen Fry still), but they have apparently finalized the deal and are now definitely involved.

Wilkinson and Nighy are perfect for the project, because they fit in with Singer's cinematic interests. Like the director, both Wilkinson and Nighy have been able to do comic book or action or other franchise-type movies (Nighy more so) while still maintaining their respective reputations as serious artists. I think that Valkyrie will actually fall somewhere between the two extremes (too Hollywood to be amazing, but too serious to attract the masses), but aside from Cruise the acting talents will at least make the pic seem to be amazing (sure, it could even be amazing, but I'll remain a cynic until I see it). I could probably watch a ten hour film in which Wilkinson and Nighy simply talk about economics (surely their respective characters from Separate Lies and The Girl in the Café could be friends, no?). They are that interesting. I just can't believe this is the first time somebody thought to put them together in the same movie.

When Woody Allen traded Manhattan for London with Match Point, he wound up surprising everybody and delivering one of his best films. The change seemed to really invigorate a career that was starting to get pretty stale. After three films set in London, Allen is switching locales yet again, this time to Barcelona. His next project will star Allen regular Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, and Penelope Cruz. It is a comedy, and we're now getting word of a title -- Midnight in Barcelona. Barcelona will be shot on location this summer. Allen works fast -- when Erik told you about this film in February, Woody hadn't even finished the screenplay yet. Details on the project remain hazy; all we know is that it focuses on foreigners in the Spanish city, will contain both English and Spanish dialogue, and involves -- of course -- a love entanglement.

Forgive me for not jumping up and down about this one, I've reached a point where the phrase "Woody Allen comedy" fills me with dread. Allen hasn't made a remotely funny movie since Deconstructing Harry, and that was ten years ago. He completely derailed the good feeling created by Match Point with the dreary Scoop, and in my opinion Woody should a) stick to the drama and b) stay behind the camera at this point. I have higher hopes for Allen's latest, Cassandra's Dream, which fits the bill on both counts. It was expected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, but The Guardian is reporting that Cannes organizers deemed the film "unsuitable" for even an out-of-competition slot. Starring Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, and Tom Wilkinson, Cassandra's Dream tells the story of two Cockney Brothers (McGregor and Farrell) in South London who fall into crime and sibling rivalry when they meet the wrong woman. It's set for release on October 5. Variety reports that The Weinstein Company is rumored to be the front runner to distribute that film, but no confirmation yet.

You know the summer blockbuster season has begun when Hollywood is already looking ahead to their serious Fall fare. First Showing.net is now hosting the first trailer for the legal thriller Michael Clayton, written and directed by Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Ultimatum). The film stars George Clooney as a mysterious employee of a high-powered law firm sent to clean up a scandal left in the wake of a lawyer's breakdown. For once the trailer actually leaves some things to the imagination; there are some inklings of a deadly corporate conspiracy and maybe just a dash of politics -- but would you expect any less from Clooney? The film also stars Tom Wilkinson (who looks to be just a tad loony here), Tilda Swinton, and Sydney Pollack -- whose scenes in this trailer look almost identical to his other legal drama Changing Lanes, but I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

This is the first of many projects for Clooney this year. On top of the imminent release of the latest installment of the Ocean's franchise, the actor/director has already signed for the Coen brothers CIA film Burn after Reading alongside fellow "rat packer" Brad Pitt, and the dark comedy remake of Our Brand Is Crisis. Just recently word came that Clooney was also planning a film version of the strange true-life story of a FBI sting operation that posed as a film production to free hostages in Tehran. Oh, and we should also mention his football flick Leatherheads (which he directed) and the much-talked about White Jazz. But first up is Clayton, which is set for release September 28. Well, he might not be the next Cary Grant, but he certainly seems to have a similar work ethic.

I normally have a problem with movies about infidelity (there's just too many of them), but I rather enjoyed Separate Lies, the directorial debut of Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park). Apparently enough people liked the film to allow the writer-director to be hired for yet another magical fantasy franchise. This one is based on a series of books by L. M. Boston called The Green Knowe Chronicles. The first novel, published in 1954, is titled The Children of Green Knowe, though the film has been renamed From Time to Time. The plot follows the adventures of a boy visiting with his strange grandmother during WWII. Somehow the boy ends up traveling backward in time -- but as a sort of ghost -- and visits with older generations of his family, who help him to solve an old mystery.

The film will feature another great crop of British actors, two of whom are no strangers to magical franchises (hint: they appear in the Harry Potter movies). And of those cast, I will take a wild guess and say that Maggie Smith is playing the grandmother. I would love to say that Timothy Spall plays the boy, but I'll go ahead and assume he plays some other character. Rounding out the ensemble so far is Hugh Bonneville and Annie Reid, neither of whom are likely the boy, either. It will be interesting to see how well Fellowes is able to work with children and youth-oriented material, because both Separate Lies and Gosford Park were pretty much films for grown-ups (and no, I don't mean they were "adult films").

It seems like Kenneth Branagh could have a thing for playing Nazis. Latino Review has reported that Branagh is in talks to star in Bryan Singer's WWII drama Valkyrie. Nothing is official so far, but according to sources, Branagh along with Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Fry and Patrick Wilson will be joining Tom Cruise in the story of German Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. Stauffenberg led a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in 1944. The film was written by Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, and this marks their first collaboration with one another since The Usual Suspects.

If Branagh joins the film, it would mark the third time that Branagh has done a Nazi period piece. There was the debacle that was Swing Kids -- although he did have the foresight to have his name taken off that picture. Then in 2001, he played Reinhard Heydrich, an architect of The Holocaust in the TV film Conspiracy. You cannot help but think that Singer might have had that performance in mind when casting talks began. At least I hope it was that performance rather than the big-band hating member of the Gestapo. Branagh is still busy with his own remake of Sleuth with Jude Law and Michael Caine -- you can't deny that Branagh has always had a thing for the cutesy casting since Caine will be returning to the film in the role originally played by Laurence Olivier, and Law is filling in for Caine. Valkyrie is set to start production this summer, so if Branagh is planning on providing a little "Nazi menace" there is still plenty of time.

You're familiar with the Battle of Britain, right? It's when the German Luftwaffe bombed the crap out of British cities and tried to wipe out the Royal Air Force during World War II. While a statement, it was the first real defeat of Hitler and changed the tide of the war. But, what if Hitler had won? Not only that, but what if he had won, only to be defeated by the Scots? There's a new film just budding on the horizon that will tackle this very notion, but it won't do so with earnest, live-action drama, but with a Team America sort of twist.

Although Jackboots on Whitehall will have the same tone and style as its American predecessor, the Brits are cutting the strings, literally. They have "specially made 'Action Man' type action figures" that will move without the need of strings, animation, or stop motion. Edward McHenry, recent Oxford grad and co-writer of the script with his brother, Rory, once used the same techniques for a short film named Baptism of Fire. It's a great start for McHenry, who has gone from winning the Swipe Films Screenplay Scholarship with the script to directing the feature.

What's even better is the cast. Where Trey Parker and Matt Stone handled most of the voices in Team America, Jackboots is a fragrant potpurri of British names: Timothy Spall, who you might remember as Peter Pettigrew, will be the voice of Churchill, the Nightcrawling Alan Cumming is Hitler, Tom Wilkinson will be Hitler's propaganda minister, Goebbels, and there will be some Riff Raff with Richard O'Brien as leading Holocaust-header Himmler. If you actually need more reasons to watch, other voices will include Richard E. Grant, Rosamund Pike and Sanjeev Bhaskar.