anthony shaffer Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Is there a statute of limitations for 'spoiling' a movie? Is there anyone of passing cultural literacy who does not already know that the great man's dying words spoke of his fondest childhood memory, that the astronaut was on Earth all along, that the low-grade crook was making the whole story up off the bulletin board? And is there a certain point where you can't help but spoil a movie if you're going to talk about it honestly? And what if the movie under consideration is a remake?

Kenneth Branagh's new film of Sleuth brings all of those questions to mind. Based on Anthony Shaffer's play, previously filmed in 1972, Sleuth starts simple and stays small: The older Andrew Wyke is visited by the younger Milo Tindle. The older man has position, power, privilege; the younger man has none of those things -- but he is sleeping with the older man's wife. The younger man has come to ask the older man to grant his wife a divorce -- and, maybe, see what the old fool's made of. The older man is not willing to grant the divorce -- but, he might as well see what this young bastard's like. In the original 1972 version of Sleuth, Laurence Olivier was the older man, and Michael Caine the younger; now, Caine plays the cuckolded husband and Jude Law the bright young adulterer.

Back in September we learned that Jude Law and Michael Caine would be starring in a remake of Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth, which was a popular stage play before Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed a 1972 movie version starring Sir Laurence Olivier and ... Michael Caine.

What's (potentially) interesting about this re-do (aside from the fact that Kenneth Branagh is directing and Harold Pinter is writing) is that Mr. Caine will, of course, be stepping into the role originally played by Olivier, while Mr. Law (who has wanted to make this flick for a long time, apparently) will be playing Caine's old role.

For those who don't remember the movie, it's about a veteran writer and a hotshot young actor who spend one twist-filled weekend at a fancy English manor -- but the actor's been canoodling the writer's wife ... and the writer knows it.

Sony Pictures Classics just climbed on board with Branagh and Company, and they seem to be in quite the hurry to get the thing made: Production begins this month.

Neil LaBute's already-controversial remake of the cult mega-classic The Wicker Man has been assigned a September 1st release date by Warner Bros., according to my blood-soaked brothers over at BD.com. The studio has also taken Dark Castle's The Reaping and switched it from August 11th to November 8th.

The Wicker Man is based on Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer's quietly brilliant original chiller, and it's a revisit that Mr. Hardy is none to thrilled about. (As Karina reported back in September, he had some decidedly unhappy things to say about LaBute's remake.) The new take features Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Leelee Sobieski, and Molly Parker. (The original coasted by on just mood, atmosphere, and a commanding lead performance by Edward "the eventual Equalizer" Woodward.) If you really crave a plot synopsis on The Wicker Man, do us both a favor and go buy/rent the original flick. It really is as good as the fans say.

Now, The Reaping is the latest from the Dark Castle gang, the folks who offered you House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts, Ghost Ship, Gothika, and House of Wax. It stars two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a supernatural debunker who visits a small Louisiana town, only to discover that some truly freaky shiznit is going down. We're talking biblical plagues here, horror fans. Although Dark Castle's been a bit inconsistent with their output, The Reaping seems to be getting off on the right foot: The director is Stephen Hopkins, the man who helmed Nightmare on Elm St. Part 5, Predator 2, Judgment Night, The Ghost and the Darkness, and several episodes of Tales from the Crypt and 24. (True, he also directed the big-screen version of Lost in Space, but I'm trying to think positive thoughts here.)