emmy rossum Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When it was revealed that Tim Burton and Dorian Gray ( I mean Johnny Depp) would be taking us all down Lewis Carroll's rabbit hole in 2010's 3D IMAX adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, a million bat-filled brains exploded with joy. Burton, who could perhaps be held personally responsible for the popularity of black-and-white striped stockings, has stocked his fantasia with a panoply of freaky faves, from Crispin Glover ("I can kick high!") and baby mama Helena Bonham Carter to Hammer Horror super-spook Christopher Lee. Anticipation is already running high just from the names attached and the few photos floating around the Internet. Empire Magazine has an interview with Burton in its issue coming out Thursday in the UK, along with a few photos from the movie.

But what about the other flicks that are getting our fishnets in a tangle? Naturally, Burton has a slew of projects coming up, including a big-screen adaptation of Dark Shadows with Depp rumored to be Barnabas Collins, and a full-length version of Frankenweenie, but there are a few other films coming out or in production (or in perpetual production) that make it a good time to get your goth on.

Dragonball: Evolution is based on a manga series (that's Japanese for "comic book") that was also turned into an anime series (that's Japanese for "cartoon") and is now a movie that was not screened for critics before it opened (that's Hollywood for "we're not very proud of it"). I doubt it's what fans of the story have been hoping for all these years, as they've endured one delay after another in getting a live-action version to the screen, but it's not aggressively bad. It's more like a dumb, energetic puppy.

It is the story of Goku (Justin Chatwin), a teenager being raised by his grandfather (Randall Duk Kim), who teaches him the ancient ways of martial arts and, from the looks of it, the Force. Goku has supernatural powers that he has not yet learned to harness, including the ability, not unlike a video-game character, to throw colorful balls of energy. Grandfather urges him not to fight unnecessarily, but Goku is always being bullied by his classmates. "They push me so far that I want to explode!" he says. You know how it is -- the handsome, nice, sociable kids always have so much trouble making friends.

For Goku's 18th birthday, Grandfather gives him a cool-looking billiard ball with four stars on it. It is a dragonball -- and you better believe there's an angry dragon looking for it! No, I kid. It's called a dragonball because, I don't know, "dragon" sounds cool, I guess. There are seven such balls scattered throughout the world. If you were to assemble them all, you'd be entitled to have "one perfect wish" granted. Trouble is, a long-imprisoned demon called Piccolo (James Marsters) has been let loose, and he's trying to collect the seven dragonballs himself so he can have his own nefarious wish granted.

At this point, I'm starting to wonder why Fox even bothered trying to bring Dragonball to the big screen. Just a few weeks after the underwhelming trailer for the anime update hit the internet, a notice has been found over at Actors Access looking for Tibetan and Nepalese actors for Dragonball re-shoots. The shoots are scheduled to begin on October 30th, but there aren't many specifics on what Fox might have planned. One thing is for sure, director James Wong could stand to make a few changes before the flick hits theaters in April (if you don't believe me, take a look at James Marsters as Lord Piccolo).

Let's just take a moment to consider the history of the project -- because, for me, it all started with the casting of Justin Chatwin (War of The Worlds). As soon as Mr. Chatwin signed on the dotted line as the hero Goku, fans haven't been behind the project like Fox had hoped. Even if you ignore the obvious problem of hiring a non-Asian actor for the role, Chatwin didn't have much to recommend him other than the hair type to pull off anime spikes.

Cut to a few months later, and a nasty rumor emerged claiming Fox might possibly scrap the film altogether. The studio has since debunked that rumor, and according to their spokesperson, they are completely behind the film and loved what they saw. Then again, if they loved it so much, why are they back for re-shoots?

Dragonball is expected to arrive in theaters on April 3rd, 2009.

[via io9]

I might have been raised on the old maxim: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all -- but even I can't keep my mouth shut on this one. A new poster and some stills from the live-action Dragonball have hit the net (along with some official pics from Fox), and it is not looking any better for the anime update. If you are one of the few Dragonball fans left out there with hope for this movie, I'm afraid once you get a look at James Marsters as Lord Piccolo, the dream of a decent flick goes right out the window. Although to be fair, I have to give them credit for trying out a slightly more 'modern' look on the new poster art.

Dragonball stars Justin Chatwin as the mighty Goku (a casting decision that has yet to ever really make sense), a legendary warrior who is responsible for protecting the awesome powers of the mystical 'Dragonballs'. Jamie Chung also stars as Chi Chi (Goku's love interest), along with Marsters as the evil Lord Piccolo (oh Spike, where did it all go wrong?), Chow Yun Fat as Master Roshi, and Emmy Rossum as Bulma.

Just last week, the rumors were silenced that Fox would be scrapping the one hundred million dollar film. The current spin from Fox is that they are 100% behind the project -- but honestly, what else could they say? So whatever you may think about Dragonball, plenty of fans will probably be there on opening day. Who knows? Maybe I'll be one of them. I have been known to enjoy watching a train wreck on screen -- how about you?

[Thanks Coming Soon]

We all know that the Internet is the birthplace of nasty rumors. It has been proven many times before that bad word of mouth has the power to cripple a flick. But Fox has been fighting back the naysayers and have debunked a rumor that has been gaining speed surrounding James Wong's live-action Dragonball. Rumors had surfaced over at Film Junk last week that the studio was about to pull the plug on their feature film version of the classic anime. The speculation began when Junk received a tip that "the higher-ups at Fox are not too impressed the footage that has been shot thus far, and are seriously debating shutting the whole thing down. -- the movie supposedly has a budget of over $100 million and I can understand them wanting to cut some losses while they still can."

Dragonball stars Justin Chatwin as Goku (a controversial casting choice to say the least), a hero on a quest to find the "mystical Dragonballs" before the evil Lord Piccolo (as played by James Marsters) can get his hands on them. Also starring are Emmy Rossum as Bulma, Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi, and Jamie Chung as Goku's love interest, Chi Chi.

But, for better or for worse, it turns out that it was nothing but a load of nasty innuendo. The official blog for Dragonball has since gotten to the bottom of the whole mess, and according to them, "20th Century Fox states the information reported was false and the film is still scheduled for an April 2009 release." Now, new reports are surfacing that Fox 'loves' what they have seen, and the only reason the release date was pushed back was to ensure enough time for finishing the F/X.

So what do you think? Is Fox's enthusiasm genuine for the much-maligned project, or just damage control gone into overdrive?

Dragonball will hit theaters in April, 2009.

Well, if you aren't used to seeing Justin Chatwin as the beloved hero Goku in the big- screen remake of Dragonball Z, then feast your eyes on the Japanese poster for the anime update (courtesy of DBthemovie.com). Once again, good old Goku and his Dragonball are front and center with no one else in sight -- would it have killed Fox to give fans a peek at some of the other characters?

Dragonball is based on the classic manga about a warrior named Goku (Chatwin) sworn to protect mystical orbs known as dragonballs from an evil warlord named Piccolo (played by James Marsters). I know there is a lot more to the story, but considering all the changes that have been promised, it would probably be best if fans don't get too caught up in the details.

Just last week, Marsters told the Japanese magazine Jump Square, "Definitely the story of this movie is different from the original. But it's a necessary change because we need to condense the long story of the original for a movie, for example, some characters in the original don't appear in the movie. And we try to give it a more gritty and graphic feeling."

So while details surrounding the big-screen version of Dragonball have been kept relatively under wraps, it is wise to remember that nothing ever stays secret for long in the age of the internet. Just a few weeks after the first image of Justin Chatwin as the anime hero Goku hit the net, a crop of new magazine scans have been posted over at the Dragonball fan site, dbthemovie.com, with a few new shots of Goku, Bulma (Emmy Rossum) and Master Roshi (Chow Yun Fat). So even though this latest batch looks pretty similar to some of the earlier shots, at least these aren't watermarked.

Based on the classic anime series, Dragonball is the story of the hero Goku and his mission to protect the famed 'dragonballs' from the evil Lord Piccolo (played by James Marsters). Throw in some romance in the form of Jamie Chung and you have a summer blockbuster, right? Well, for director James Wong's sake I hope so, because let's be completely honest: expectations for this film are not high. In fact, most fans are probably just praying that Wong and company don't ruin their favorite characters, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Dragonball is scheduled to arrive in theaters on April 10, 2009.

There's a new indie film on the way with a pretty vague description and a fun cast, but there may be more to it. Variety reports that Adam Salky is directing a new indie film called Dare, written by David Brind. Fresh off of Dragonball, Emmy Rossum is starring, with Alan Cumming, Sandra Bernhard, Ashley Spring, Ana Gasteyer, Rooney Mara, and Cady Huffman also in the cast.

They have described it as a movie "about three privileged high school seniors who decide they can no longer ignore their deepest needs and take the biggest risk of their lives." However, it looks like there's a bit more to it, if this is anything like the short film that Brind wrote and Salky directed, also called Dare. It's about a high school senior named Ben who is crushing on Johnny, a "bad boy" that also goes to his school. "After Ben gives Johnny a ride home one night, the boys end up in Johnny's swimming pool and have an encounter that breaks the rules and blows Ben's mind." How this then translates into three, and becomes the biggest risk of their lives, I don't know. Since Rossum is starring, does this become some sort of love triangle?

The film is currently filming in Philadelphia.

It might not be the best quality image, but the first glimpse of Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as the anime hero, Goku, has finally hit the net -- and I have to admit, it doesn't look half-bad. A dedicated Dragonball Z fan submitted a scan from the Japanese magazine Shonen Jump to the Dragonball fan site (see to the right; click to enlarge) and even though it's blurry and covered in Japanese, it does give me hope that the film won't be a total disaster. Fox has kept a tight grip on updates for the film, and other than a few MySpace entries from co-star Emmy Rossum, the most we have gotten was a leaked teaser poster.

Dragonball was written and directed by James Wong and tells the story of Goku, a young man locked in a struggle with the evil Piccolo (James Marsters) over some mystical globes known as 'dragon balls'. The debate over whether or not Chatwin was going to be able to pull off the classic manga character was a big source of contention among fans. It's not like it's easy to ignore the obvious racial 'disparity' in hiring Chatwin to play a guy that normally looks like this.

So what do you think? Now that we have finally seen Chatwin in all his manga glory, will it be enough to silence detractors? Or will it be the last piece of the puzzle that proves they were right all along?

Dragonball will arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2009.

Right on the heels of the delayed release date for Dragonball, Slashfilm has managed to score an early look at the teaser poster for the feature film, courtesy of blurry photos from a fan. Maybe it is because I am not all that familiar with the intricacies of Dragonball (beyond their awesome hairstyles), but this poster isn't exactly piquing my curiosity to find out -- and isn't that the whole point of a teaser?

Dragonball was written and directed by James Wong (Final Destination), and stars Justin Chatwin as Goku; a young man put on a quest to retrieve seven "mystical Dragonballs." James Marsters (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) plays Goku's nemesis Piccolo, who is also trying to get his hands on the orbs. Other classic Dragonball characters making an appearance in the film are Bulma (played by Emmy Rossum) and Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat). So can anyone tell me what exactly these Dragonballs are supposed to be? Because every time I have to read a line like "Goku searches for Dragonballs," I giggle like a 12 year old girl (call me immature if you must).

You can't really blame Fox for delaying the release date for the flick. Dragonball might be a favorite among fans of anime, but it definitely doesn't have the same audience reach as titles like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Tropic Thunder. Now that there is plenty of time before Dragonball hits theaters, I just hope that Fox can come up with some more exciting marketing materials. Dragonball is due to arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2009.