As the director, co-screenwriter and star of Appaloosa, Ed Harris follows up his Oscar-nominated work as an actor-director in 2000's Pollock with an adaptation of Robert B. Parker's novel, revolving around two old friends and partners (Harris and Viggo Mortensen) in 1882 New Mexico trying to enforce the rule of law in a town threatened by a corrupt power-broker (Jeremy Irons). Harris spoke with Cinematical in Toronto about working on Appaloosa, adapting Parker's novel, co-starring opposite Mortensen and how hard it was to find financing for a traditional Western like Appaloosa: "Pretty hard. I mean, it was very interesting; people really responded to the script, and if the budget for it had been half of what it was, we probably could have got it made pretty easily. ... But we needed the budget to serve the production values; it called for that. I didn't want to make a little intimate art-house film. I wanted to make something that respected the space that it took place in ... it deserves it; it calls for it; so, it was pretty tough; it was a real battle."

Cinematical's podcast content is now available through iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

All the movie studios are just hellbent on messing with my fall season. Australia is the latest movie to get the old switch-a-roo, as Variety reports that Fox is moving its release date from November 14 down to November 26. I know, it's only a matter of weeks, but it's just the principle of the thing. And it's now pitted against The Road, forcing me to chose which one to see opening day. I don't need that kind of stress, particularly on Thanksgiving which isn't exactly the most relaxing of holidays.

The delay is apparently the result of director Baz Luhrmann needing some extra time to polish the film. He brought everyone back for some pick-up shots, which explains the paparazzi shots I've seen of Hugh Jackman riding around Oz in full drover gear. I thought he just did that sort of thing all the time.

The fact that Australia's delay means it now neatly dodges the release of Quantum of Solace is, I'm sure, mere coincidence. I suspect we'll see more November rearranging -- Variety is reporting that The Time Traveler's Wife is also coming out on the 26th, though IMDB is still showing a Christmas release. If Variety is right (and why wouldn't it be?), I wouldn't be surprised if it ran to the 14th to steer clear of competing with another romance. Plus, I just don't think America could handle Viggo Mortensen, Hugh Jackman, and Eric Bana all having a movie out on the same day -- not when us girls are supposed to be home making pumpkin pies and turkey.

I don't necessarily have a soft spot for westerns -- although 3:10 to Yuma, Seraphim Falls, and The Proposition certainly didn't hurt that cause -- but because we as moviegoers aren't exactly inundated with them, it always feels like they tend to have more effort and care put into them than most other genre fare.

Judging from the MSN exclusive trailer for the upcoming Appaloosa, this looks to follow suit as Ed Harris (who also directed and co-wrote the film) and Viggo Mortensen (for whom Harris played an adversary in A History of Violence) deal with lawlessness in a small town out west, while the widowed Renée Zellweger surely tempts them both.

Toss in a supporting cast that includes Jeremy Irons and Lance Henriksen (that reminds me, The Quick and the Dead merits mention as well), and the benefit of my doubt at least has been earned. Appaloosa is scheduled to play Toronto in September, followed by an October 3rd release.

Finished with my jury responsibilities, I managed to check out some features. A favorite of mine was Chelsea on the Rocks, by Abel Ferrara (director of Bad Lieutenant and a terrific little mob flick called The Funeral). It's a documentary about the infamous Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, but it's far from traditional. There are lots of odd transitions and edits, the interviews are beyond casual (Ferrara says something along the lines of "No shit!" every ten seconds while listening to the stories of those living in the building), and there are some utterly ridiculous and unnecessary re-enactments of notorious events in the hotel's past (actors play Sid and Nancy, Janis Joplin, and assorted hangers-on). Truth be told, the whole thing was kind of a mess. But watching it felt a lot like spending a night in the hotel, and it's a ride I'm glad I took. I didn't learn a thing, but it brought me inside a place full of fascinating characters, a place I walked past countless times in Manhattan without a second thought.

One of my concerns when I started doing this column was that each forthcoming adaptation I covered would equate to a new movie losing the ability to surprise me. What more effective way to strip oneself of the thrill of cinematic discovery, I thought, than to pore over the source material before watching? Ultimately I decided that the prospect of literary discovery along with the chance to write the column more than compensated for that risk, but here's some evidence that maybe I shouldn't have worried at all: having read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, I'm more excited to see John Hillcoat's adaptation – coming this November -- than I ever would have been otherwise.

Just when it was looking like No Country for Old Men had a monopoly on successful interpretations of Cormac McCarthy's drearily minimalistic prose, production on an adaptation of The Road suggests the possibility of healthy competition. The movie, which recently finished shooting in Pennsylvania and hits theaters in November, remains a wild card until post-production wraps. Nevertheless, if this colorful report from the set in The New York Times offers any indication, The Road appears poised to capture McCarthy's original gloomy lyricism. Reporter Charles McGrath points out the difficulties the filmmakers endured when the weather got too nice and the grass looked too green. In other words, they're working really hard to keep things bleak. The story, about a father and son wandering through desolate landscapes after a cataclysmic event destroys civilization, demands that the dark aura remain intact. However, it wouldn't work without two strong leads, and McGrath implies that with Viggo Mortensen and eleven-year-old Kodi Smit-Mcphee (the next Haley Joel Osment?), that need has been fulfilled.

The best match for The Road, however, is its director, John Hillcoat, whose work on The Proposition proves he's the man for the job. That woefully undervalued western had the intensity of a Sam Peckinpah movie in overdrive, and The Road screams for the same raw, stripped-down approach. It's nice to hear that Hillcoat sees the movie as an antithesis to Mad Max, meaning he wants to eschew cartoony violence in order to create a scarily realistic depiction of post-apocalyptic duress. Bring it on.

[Photo above: Kodi Smit-Mcphee on the set of The Road, courtesy of the New York Times]

No matter how many times Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson mention bringing back every Lord of the Rings cast member they possibly can, it causes a flurry of excitement. Even if it remains unconfirmed, everyone is just so excited that it might as well be signed into contract.

And this time is no exception. Del Toro casually mentioned to Variety that talks have begun with Viggo Mortensen, Andy Serkis and Ian McKellen -- or, at least, preliminary contact has been made. There's not much talk of recasting, either, should someone be unavailable. "I am all for keeping the actors who originated the parts, as much as availability and their willingness will allow."

Pre-production is about to begin on The Hobbit, with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens tackling the screenplay under the direction of Jackson and del Toro. "We will all be involved in the script in some fashion but the exact definition is about a week away." So, there might be some very cool announcements made during that Hobbit chat. (Have you sent your questions, yet?)

I feel like I'm calling a golf tournament with Hobbit news sometimes, like I should be whispering "preliminary contact has been made." But please don't mistake that for careless sarcasm. The thought of Viggo Mortensen returning as Aragorn, son of Arathorn, is enough to keep me awake at night. I love that character. Tolkien could have devoted ten books to him, and I would have never gotten sick of him.