Lies are really popular lately. Forget about the white variety. I'm talking about the big, whopping vortex of lies that can, in no way, lead to anything good. We've already got Lindsay Lohan experiencing fake Labor Pains in order to keep from getting fired by her jerky boss. Now, we've got cancer lies.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Dan Byrd, Emily VanCamp, and Adam Goldberg are going to star in a new indie comedy called Norman. The coming-of-age story, directed by Jonathan Segal (The Last Run), focuses on the title character (Bird). He's "a darkly comic teen who deals with his problems by pretending to be dying of cancer. The lie complicates relationships between him and his new high school girlfriend (VanCamp) and between him and his teacher (Goldberg)." Gee, ya think? It's funny that girls don't want their boyfriends to succumb to cancer.

One would assume that a quick call home would dispel such rumors and get Norman a good case of the grounding, but I guess he's able to wiggle this rumor around his parental figures. The project is currently shooting in Spokane.

Almost two full years ago, Russell Crowe was looking to star in the big-screen adaptation of Michael Stanton's The Prince of Providence, which was being helmed by Michael Corrente. Since that time, Crowe is out, the project is still in the works, and as The Hollywood Reporter posts, it might be getting itself a serving of Robin Williams.

The script, which was written by David Mamet and polished by Howard Korder, focuses on Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, a corrupt politician "who dominated Providence's political machine for 21 years." There's no word on who Robin Williams will play if his scheduling works out, but Oliver Platt will take on the role of Cianci (quite the change from Crowe), and be joined by the likes of Dermot Mulroney, Adam Goldberg (Ronnie Gantz), Bradley Cooper (Haxton), and Ed Burns.

All of the actors sound great, but it will be even better if Williams officially signs on. After so many questionable films in the last handful of years, it would be so very nice to see Robin stretching his acting chops again. Production will begin later this summer in Rhode Island.

It doesn't look much like him, but that's Adam Goldberg in the photo above. He looks tired. He has a gun. Things can't be going right for him on this particular day. Cinematical has just received two exclusive photos (see both in larger formats in the gallery below) from the upcoming film From Within -- which happens to be one of the more buzzed-about films hitting the Tribeca Film Festival later this month. From Within also stars Elizabeth Rice, Thomas Dekker, Laura Allen and Rumer Willis. Additionally, it was directed by Phedon Papamichael, who worked as a cinematographer on films like 3:10 to Yuma, The Pursuit of Happyness and The Weather Man. Check out the synopsis below:

"The small, serene community of Grovetown is shaken by the dual suicide of a young couple. When more suicides quickly follow, people in the evangelical town turn a blind eye and cling firmly to their deep-seated beliefs. Lindsay (Elizabeth Rice), a local student and girlfriend of the pastor's son, is not so dismissive. She begins to prod deeper into the mystery and befriends Aidan (Thomas Dekker), a non-believer whose family has stirred controversy before. Lindsay soon discovers that something evil and indescribable is at work, moving parasitically from victim to victim. As the frightened locals begin looking for revenge, Lindsay is convinced she will be the next to die and realizes that Aidan may be the only hope of eradicating the suicidal plague."

There's nothing quite as annoying as wanting to see a movie with friends and having no idea what to pick. Trying to traverse the challenges of people's interests, what they've already seen, and what they like would like to see can make a once-fun idea become aggravating -- until you end up picking a film out of desperation, pleasing no one but the store that gets your coin. Hopefully this will help alleviate that turmoil. Welcome to the first installment of Friday Night Double Feature -- Cinematical's latest weekly series. Every week, you can stop by and check out two picks that would work well as a double feature -- teamed together because of theme, actors, directors, dance sequences, or any other common aspect.

This week, you're going to get a few features that have been around for a while. If you're like me, you're already getting sick of hearing the same exact Christmas songs in every store, all sap and no satire. For the most part, that's what this holiday season is -- a collection of feel-good, heart-warming media morsels. However, in the sheen of sugary sweetness, there are a few tart goodies that make the holidays just a little more interesting. First up is The Hebrew Hammer, the best Hanukkah movie to ever hit the screen, and after that, the 1980's Christmas classic, A Christmas Story. So read on, have fun, and be sure to comment about what you'd like to see, and what you think of the movies. Happy viewing!


The Hebrew Hammer



We're currently in the throes of Hannukah, so there's nothing better to slip into the DVD player than The Hebrew Hammer. Which is also partially due to the fact that there's barely any Hannukah media out there. After Adam Sandler took care of the music side of things, Adam Goldberg jumped on screen as Mordechai Jefferson Carver -- otherwise known as the Hebrew Hammer. The orthodox Jewish hero finds himself up against Santa Claus' evil son Damian, who has decided to get rid of Hannukah. With the help of Esther Bloomenbergensteinenthal, daughter of the leader of the Jewish Justice League, and Mohammed Ali Paula Abdul Rahim, head of the Kwanzaa Liberation Front, the Hebrew Hammer sets out to save the holiday and bring down Damian.

What else could you possibly want but some great laughs and B-movie, sploitation fun to balance the love and jollyness? For more reasons, check out the clips below:

Mazel tov!

All young Mordechai wants to do is spin his dreidel.

The Hebrew Hammer faces skinheads.

If you haven't already, also check out Patrick Walsh's interview with Hammer scribe Andrew Kesselman.

A Christmas Story



It's been 24 years since this film has come out, but it's just as fun today as it was back then. Bob Clark's classic follows Ralphie Parker, a young kid who wants a carbine action, two-hundred shot range Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, even though everyone else thinks that he'd shoot his eye out with it. Instead of just whining about his desire, Ralphie gets creative with bear fibs, essays, and a request to one scary Santa. Meanwhile, his dad is pretty psyched over a large package that contained a sexy, fishnet-legged lamp, and mom is preoccupied with her turkey. The movie has all the Christmas themes, but enough real-life and satirical snark to keep it all balanced.

If you'd like a wild party night, don't forget the drinking game.

And in the meantime, check out these links to get you in the mood:

The cast reunited to save the Parker house.

Siskel and Ebert review the movie.

Jonathan Kesselman wrote and directed The Hebrew Hammer, a comedy about an Orthodox Jewish Blaxploitation hero (Adam Goldberg) who saves Hanukkah from the evil offspring of Santa Claus (Andy Dick). The film has become a cult favorite, and you should add it to your holiday viewing list this year. In addition to being a successful screenwriter, Jonathan teaches Writing Comedy for Film and Television at Yale University. He has some great tips for aspiring comedy writers.

Cinematical: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Jonathan Kesselman: I always loved writing. When I was in the 5th grade, I was pulled out of my class and put onto the 12th grade yearbook staff writing copy. For a while, I thought I wanted to be a journalist. In college, I majored in Psychology -- neuroscience was my field. I realized that I didn't like slicing rat brains. I remember really searching for what it was that I wanted to do with my life. And I had always been obsessed with movies. I remember having this existential crisis pre-graduation, and then seeing a documentary on Your Show of Shows, and it hit me that I was put on this earth to make fun of people.

Cinematical: So you threw the rat in the air triumphantly...

JK: I ate the rat -- tasty! Yeah, I graduated, and decided I wanted to go to film school. I eventually went to graduate school at USC for film production.

Welcome back to The Write Stuff! I'm thrilled that there is such a strong interest in screenwriting out there. Thank you all so much for your comments last week, both here and on my site. All of your questions and comments will be addressed in the coming weeks, so stay tuned and keep them coming!

The first interview for the column is with red-hot screenwriter Adam F. Goldberg. Adam is living the dream. He writes for both television and film, and his upcoming movie projects include Fanboys, the live-action Jetsons movie, and They Came from Upstairs. Cinematical spoke with the incredibly busy Goldberg about his scripts, his process, and Goonies: The Musical.

Cinematical: You said you were being "enslaved by a director," what are you working on? And should I call the authorities?

Adam F. Goldberg: Perhaps call them for my hacky writing! It's called They Came From Upstairs for Fox. It's a family movie, kinda like Gremlins -- but with aliens. The spec was written by Mark Burton and was sold for like $1.7 mil. I believe I am making about .0001212 of that. It's been a really cool project. The movie was in pre-production and the studio realized the script wasn't ready and shut it down pretty late in the game. I came aboard to get the train back on the tracks which is always high pressure and very difficult to do. I handed in 40 pages and they re-greenlit the movie and we're casting and location scouting now. I'm on draft two currently, working next to the director and bringing his vision into it.

Cinematical: Is that an awkward process at all -- being brought in to re-write a fellow writer? Do you ever run into hurt feelings or bruised egos? I guess the $1.7 million makes the pill easier to swallow.

AFG: Well, I come from the TV world, writing on sitcoms and that's very collaborative. You have to sit in the room and watch 10 other writers tear apart your script right in front of you. That bruises your ego. As for movies, more often than not a writer can only go so far and it's your job to bat clean up. It's never a great feeling to have your screenplay rewritten, but hopefully you've moved onto your next project, so it doesn't sting so much. And believe me, that $1.7 payday is like winning the lottery. I hope I can sell a spec one day. I've had little luck in that department.

After touring the festival circuit, with stops in Berlin and Tribeca, Julie Delpy's new film, 2 Days in Paris, recently opened domestically to very good critical reception -- it's currently sporting an 87% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If you haven't seen it, it's a romantic comedy about a native Parisian played, of course, by Delpy, who brings her American boyfriend home to Paris for a visit. The boyfriend is played by journeyman actor, writer and director Adam Goldberg, who most of you probably remember most for his large role in Saving Private Ryan. In the years since then, he's appeared in movies such as Deja Vu, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and David Fincher's Zodiac, while also writing and directing a film called I Love Your Work. Cinematical recently spoke with Adam about the experience of making 2 Days in Paris, a film that's in some ways, semi-autobiographical -- he and Delpy were formerly in a relationship, and the film draws heavily from their time together.

CINEMATICAL: I was on your character's side in this film -- as a cultural outsider, it falls to Julie's character to make your character feel as comfortable as possible when he's not on his home turf.

AG: I totally agree. Even if it's not necessarily about it being a cultural difference, just the idea of, when you're on somebody's home turf, if you're gonna meet their family, obviously, then you have to make the outsider, the alien, feel as comfortable as possible. She kind of affects this sort of oblivious attitude, which I think is sort of part of her way of kind of goading him and getting attention. He's got his own ways of goading her and getting her attention, and so I think it's something that they both sort of kind of do to each other, you know, a little bit? Which tends to happen sometimes in relationships, you know, a few years down the line.

RS: Do you think those characters have the makings of a successful relationship?

AG: For entertainment value purposes. I mean, that was sort of one of the things we would talk about -- this idea of almost kind of keeping themselves amused by, maybe sort of battling wits, maybe kind of in an effort to not really deal with the more serious underlying issues of the relationship. So I think there's potential for success, but basically they're both emotionally a bit underdeveloped. [Dogs barking] Hold on one sec ... I think they both need to be in therapy. There's no mention of therapy, you know. But certainly, if they keep going the way that they're going, they're going to start aging in dog years.

Not long ago, I had a chance to sit down with Julie Delpy in Manhattan to talk about 2 Days in Paris, her upcoming directorial effort that's bowing on August 10th. (You can check out Erik's glowing Berlinale review here.) As she waited on some black tea to arrive, we quickly got into talking about the film, which is about a native Parisian played by Delpy who brings her American boyfriend home to Paris for a quick visit; the two of them try to survive what the resulting cultural shockwaves do to their relationship. We also got into the subject of her next directorial project -- a biopic of the infamous 16th century 'Blood Countess' Elizabeth Bathory -- and discussed the unconventional arc of her career in general. Delpy has been quite vocal about having grand ambitions as a director -- she dreams of helming major action/sci-fi blockbusters -- but told me with characteristic bluntness that her filmmaking goals wouldn't force her to put acting on the backburner. "I don't have to choose, so I'm not going to," she said, pointedly. Here's the interview.

RS: Have you seen Zoe Cassavetes' Broken English yet?

JD: I didn't see it yet. I want to, though.

RS: The reason I bring it up is because [spoiler warning] they came pretty close to ripping off the ending of Before Sunset.

JD: They did?

RS: Yeah. Girl meets French guy in New York, she chases him to Paris, can't find him, finds him at the very end, they're deciding if they will stay together, and he says something along the lines of 'you're gonna miss that plane,' and that's the end.

JD: No..

RS: Yes. Lots of critics noticed it at the time, not just me.

JD: Really?

RS: Yeah. It was like, why would she do that?

JD: Why would she do that? That's weird. Was it conscious?

RS: I don't know. I thought maybe you two were friends, and it was an homage. Who knows?

JD: Maybe it's an homage.

I'm a pretty big fan of Julie Delpy, which is why I write up pretty much every bit of news I can find on the actress/director/wonder-woman. This latest bit of info will be particularly sweet to Delpy fans in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, while I sit here in a flurry of jealousy. As part of a monthly series between indieWIRE and Apple, Delpy will be appearing at three Apple stores to discuss her body of work, as well as her recent film, 2 Days in Paris, which she wrote, directed, produced, edited, scored and starred in. She's basically the French, female version of Robert Rodriguez without the special effects. Can you imagine the potential talent if they reproduced? Anyway...

This is just in time for the film's limited release, which is the now very-soon August 10. The three lucky stores in question are the store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago tonight at 7:00 p.m., the Stockton Street in San Francisco on Sunday, July 29 at 6:00 p.m. and finally, the Los Angeles store at the Third Street Promenade on Thursday, August 2 at 7:00 p.m. What's even better -- the talks are free and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. After the film's release, it seems that more locations will follow, but there's no word on which. In the meantime, you can catch the latest trailer here, and you can see a really great clip from the film here, where Delpy and Adam Goldberg's characters are trying to put on a condom and have sex -- don't worry, it's all done under a comforter.

If you watch any amount of television, or keep your eye on TV news sites, you've probably heard of Thomas Dekker -- the kid who played Zach, the cheerleader's gay friend on Heroes. The actor found himself in the middle of controversy when his character was "de-gayed" on the show. There were claims that it was Dekker's agent who started the mess, while the actor says that Zach was always straight. From Heroes, he nabbed the role of John Connor in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and now he's going to star in Phedon Papamichael's indie thriller From Within. Presumably, everyone is on the same page this time about his character's sexuality.

Anyhow, the film is about a God-fearing town and a young girl who lives in it. She's torn between her Christian roots and her desire to experience the outside world. Her urge to leave increases when people of the town being to die suspiciously. I imagine that Elizabeth Rice, also listed to star, will be the girl, and that Dekker is her something or other -- friend? Boyfriend? Sexually-confused counterpart? Who knows. Medium co-star Jake Weber is also starring, along with Adam Goldberg of all people. That's right -- the Hebrew Hammer is in the Christian thriller movie -- as the token character, perhaps, or maybe the guy who whets Rice's out-of-town desires? The script was written by Brad Keene, whose sole writing credit is last year's The Gravedancers, which Christopher Campbell described as: "good, stupid entertainment that knows its ghosts and has a lot of fun introducing them to you." Production on the movie begins next month in Maryland.