Back in January, I blogged about the BBC show The Thick of It getting the feature treatment. The film, tentatively titled In the Loop, will be set in the same world as the television show, but it hadn't been determined whether the same characters would pop up. According to the latest post over at The Hollywood Reporter, it seems that the production is going half-fresh. This is particularly noteworthy because the actors are James Gandolfini, David Rasche (United 93), and ... My Girl Anna Chlumsky. Yes, Anna his swam out of the ether and right to BBC remakes!

The film will focus on the inner workings of US and British government agencies and international relations, Chlumsky will play a State Department official, Gandolfini will play a general, and Rasche has signed on to play an undersecretary of state. On the British side of things, Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, and Paul Higgins from the series are starring with Tom Hollander and Gina McKee.

Imagine if New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano suddenly became the Mayor of New York City? Variety is reporting that James Gandolfini, best known for his starring role in the long-running HBO series The Sopranos, will be joining The Taking of Pelham 123. Gandolfini is set to play Hizzoner (AKA The Mayor) in Tony Scott's remake of the 1974 thriller.

Gandolfini steps into the role inhabited by Lee Wallace in the original, a politician felled by the flu, stuck in bed, and motivated more by a selfish desire to be reelected than any altruistic concern for his fellow citizens.

Before The Sopranos, Gandolfini established himself as a colorful and versatile character actor (Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, A Civil Action). He was so supremely charismatic and memorably menacing as Tony Soprano, though, that his other recent roles have paled in comparison. Variety says he has other projects in development, based on writer Ernest Hemingway and basketball camp guru Sonny Vaccaro, that may showcase more of his range. Monika Bartyzel also noted recently that he's set to play Marvin Gaye's manager in Sexual Healing.

As Jessica Barnes originally reported, Pelham 123 will star Denzel Washington as a Transit Police officer charged with trying to foil a criminal gang that has hijacked a subway train. John Travolta will play the gang's ruthless leader. Production in New York City evidently began on February 7 and is scheduled to continue through July 4, according to the NYC Mayor's Office of Film Theatre & Broadcasting (PDF document). The film is due for release from Columbia Pictures in 2009.

I don't spend a lot of time imagining the business concerns of strip club owners. I'm sure they involve many questions of labor relations, plus the question of how warm you have to keep the place so that the goosebump factor is low -- but one New Jersey club manager's long-term business decisions may have given us the heads-up on a well-loved HBO series heading to the big screen.

The good people at /Film are linking to a story at the Times Herald-Record explaining how the manager of the Satin Dolls gentleman's club recently received a phone request asking him to hold off on some upcoming renovations -- which may seem less than germane to the world of film until you realize that Satin Dolls also served as the Bada Bing on The Sopranos. Nick D'Urso, manager of Satin Dolls, relates in the piece how his planned renovations might be held off so as to preserve the, uh, Bing-ness of the location: "I got an inside tip that they're going to do a movie, so I don't want to make any major changes ... I'm not going to reveal my sources, but we got a call from somebody (working) on the script."

Oh, this latest bit of news gives me a bit of a fangirl jump. Variety reports that Jake Scott and Jordan Scott -- offspring of Ridley -- are both gearing up for new feature films. Why do I care? Jake's not only the guy behind a lot of memorable videos like "Fake Plastic Trees," "Disarm," and "Everybody Hurts," but also Plunkett and Macleane. If you haven't seen it, it's a terrible, great movie starring Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle (plus Liv Tyler and Alan Cumming) that has disappeared from shelves. So, not only could the film be good, but maybe Macleane will get a new DVD release. At least, I hope!

While the previous flick dealt with robbers in the 18th century, this new feature, Welcome to the Rileys, is a bit softer. The film will star James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart, focuses on "a man and a woman who have been driven apart by grief after losing their daughter, and are brought back together when they meet a troubled young woman." Somehow, there's "unexpected love" and "catharsis" in there -- perhaps between the stars listed? That would be, um, interesting. While production should begin in New Orleans this April for the above film, Jordan is looking to make her debut with Cracks overseas. A period drama set in a British boarding school, Scott describes it as a film "about misguided love and obsession, as told through the eyes of a group of elite girls in this boarding school." She'll start scouting locations next week.

Why are these features being lumped together? Handmade Films International is handling worldwide sales and will present the films as a package to potential buyers at Berlinale.

As funny, or potentially scary, as it could be to see James Gandolfini in a sexy movie, especially if he gets to say: "When I get that feeling, I need sexual healing," this is just about the sexy, classic music. Just 5 days short of the two-year anniversary since Cinematical first blogged about the upcoming Marvin Gaye picture, one that had Law & Order's Jesse L. Martin attached as the music icon, word is finally picking up again. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Gandolfini signed on as both co-star and producer of the the film, Sexual Healing, which is finally heading into production this April in Massachusetts, Belgium, and Los Angeles.

The feature focuses on Gaye's later years, and the ex-Soprano "will play Gaye's manager, Freddy Cousaert, the promoter who guided the singer through the recording of his biggest-selling album, 'Midnight Love.'" But it isn't all roses. As Karina said all those months ago, the film will cover Marvin's move to Europe, his drug addiction, his move home to live with his parents, a drug relapse, and then particularly sad demise -- he was shot and killed by his father one day before his 45th birthday. Yeah, this isn't going to be an upper, folks. Still, it's looking to be a pretty interesting film.

Well, Spike Lee and I have had a complicated relationship over the years. As much as I have always respected his films, I haven't always agreed with him. But, unlike a lot of directors, at least he always has something to say. BlackFilm.com is hosting the first image from Lee's Miracle at St. Anna. The script focuses on the "tale of four members of the U.S. army's 92nd division of all-black soldiers, who in 1944 became trapped in a Tuscan village, as they contended with their racist, incompetent commanders and the Nazis".

Based on the novel by James McBride, the story centers on the massacre of Sant'Anna di Stazzema. On August 12, 1944, retreating SS-men rounded up 560 villagers and refugees (mostly women, children and the elderly) shot them and then burned the bodies. McBride adapted his own novel for the screen and the cast includes John Turturro, James Gandolfini, Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) -- who is replacing the tax-plagued Wesley Snipes, and Laz Alonso.

The project had a rocky start when Lee's comments about the treatment of African-American veterans in film caused a bit of a press frenzy. Shooting began back in October on location in Tuscany and Lee is also planning to shoot in Rome, New York, and Nassau, Bahamas. Surprisingly, Miracle has yet to find a studio, but Lee is planning on a 2009 release, so I would expect to hear something soon. It just goes to show you the sorry state of the industry when somebody like Michael Bay has no trouble setting up a studio for whatever crap-fest he has planned next, and yet one of the greatest American directors struggles to secure a deal. How depressing is that?

Let the following story be either a cautionary tale, or a story of hope, one that carries the message: always pay your taxes. As you know, Wesley Snipes got into a wee bit of tax trouble last year. He was indicted last October, and arrested last December. Well, the thing is, he was supposed to star in Spike Lee's upcoming World War II drama, Miracle at St. Anna. According to Variety, he's withdrawn from the project "because it became too difficult for him to leave the U.S. and shoot in Italy while he fights federal tax-fraud charges." Gee, what a surprise!

This scenario is, however, probably the only one where it might be beneficial to ignore the rules. I mean, if he's found guilty (he pleaded not guilty), how else is he going to pay back the money? He'll have to dip into his piggy banks, or find work in the states, because Derek Luke has replaced him. (That's good for Luke, but there is a 12-year age difference between them... I'm not sure what the rationale is here.) The actor just played an Army Ranger in Lions for Lambs, and now he's going back in time to play one of four members of the U.S. Army's all-black 92nd Division -- who found themselves without their squad behind enemy lines. "The soldiers, bitter about racism and the feeling that their own government treats its enemy better than it does them, finds humanity in the small Tuscan village of St. Anna."

If you were a little apprehensive about the last casting announcement, the other ensemble players should sweeten the deal. Joining Luke are John Turturro, James Gandolfini, Michael Ealy (Barbershop 2: Back in Business), and two actors from Get Rich or Die Tryin', Omar Benson, and Tory Kittles. Considering the fact that the last three are young black men, I imagine they might be the other three soldiers.

One of the toughest films I've sat through in recent memory wasn't at a film festival (though, to be sure, you can always find some good downers at a fest), it was a screener of James Gandolfini's first project since The Sopranos, a documentary for HBO called Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq. Disconcerting though it was to see Tony Soprano being warm and fuzzy, that wasn't the tough part to get through; the hard part was watching ten young men and women who, while serving in the armed forces in Iraq, nearly died there. All of them have been scarred in one way or another by their near-death experiences in Iraq.

The format is pretty simple: take a group of battle-scarred soldiers, sit them down one-by-one with Gandolfini on a sparse set hung with black velvet curtains, and let their stories speak for themselves. The soldiers' stories are interspersed with footage -- some of it, we're told at the beginning, taken by insurgents -- of the events that caused their injuries. It's not pretty; actually, it's pretty damn horrifying to watch a truck or tank driving down the road, see it get blown up, and know there are people inside, someone's sons and daughters. It's pretty damn horrifying, too, to see an arm or leg or head or torso all mangled and bloody, to see men and women crying in pain.

It's horrifying, too, to see a solidier, strong and active, intelligence shining out of his eyes, in home video and then to see that same solidier now, in a wheelchair, living with the effects of a traumatic brain injury caused by two bullets to his head. It's hard to hear the slight tremor underlying his mother's voice as she talks optimistically about the hope that her son will walk again, to see the pain in her eyes when he sings "From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli ... " with all the exuberance of a small child. She is happy to have her son still alive, no doubt, and proud of his service to the Marine Corps, but this is what her son is now, and the likelihood that he will ever again be the man he was before Iraq is slim.

*Apparently, some people still haven't seen last night's episode yet, so popular demand forced me to change my original headline -- stop reading now if you haven't seen it! Okay, you've been warned. I think it's safe to start taking David Chase at his word -- that there will be no Sopranos movie to launch after the series finishes its run in four weeks. In last night's episode, Tony murdered Christopher Moltisanti, perhaps the biggest character on the show besides himself, after Christopher nearly killed the two of them, driving off the road while high on smack. One of the biggest dramatic threads of the show is now finished, so any eventual movie would have to create for Tony some new love-hate foil to work around. That's assuming, of course, that Tony or any of the main characters even make it through the last three episodes. Some who claim to have picked up a little knowledge about the last episode are calling it "Shakespearean," and no one outdoes Shakespeare when it comes to blood and body counts.

However, Chase may have another idea up his sleeve for expanding the franchise beyond the current crop of characters. The MTV Movie Blog recently reported on a conversation between Chase and 'Oz' producer Tom Fontana, in which Fontana apparently floated the idea of basing a Sopranos movie around the main characters' grandparents, first arriving from Italy and presumably getting started in 'this thing of ours.' Chase told MTV "I had never thought about that. That was interesting to me." Just a passing thought, or something more serious? Who knows, but with HBO execs undoubtedly nervous about sailing into the 'post-Sopranos' era in a few weeks, there could be any number of deals being cooked up, either for a theatrical release or a future stand-alone HBO movie, perhaps.

By the way, for those who saw the episode, wouldn't a routine autopsy show that someone died of suffocation, not their injuries from a car accident?

For those of you who are up to date on your Batman history, the thought of gangster Sal Maroni playing a major role in The Dark Knight is far from an insane idea. After all, Maroni is the one who originally throws acid at Harvey Dent, scarring his face -- an event that paves the way for Dent to become the villain Two Face (who is being played by Aaron Eckhart in the new flick). This scene -- which takes place in a courtroom -- is briefly touched upon in Batman Forever via a news report on TV; in that film, Boss Maroni (as he's referred to) was played by Dennis Paladino.

Batman-on-Film reports that Maroni will once again make an appearance, though director Christopher Nolan might be looking to beef up his role. Early rumors suggest that none other than Tony Soprano himself, James Gandolfini, is being looked at to play Maroni. However, Aussie actor Alan Dale is also rumored to have been cast as a villain in The Dark Knight, leading some to believe he will be playing Maroni, not Gandolfini. BoF claims Dale's role is a small one; if that's the case -- and he is playing Maroni -- that means the gangster will not have a major role and, instead, will probably show up toward the end to throw acid at Dent. Regardless, this old school storyline is a fun one, especially if Nolan decides to include Carmine Falcone and the infamous serial killer Holiday. Perhaps Gandolfini is Maroni and Dale is Falcone? I don't know, what do you think?

UPDATE: Yes, I'm a moron for not realizing (or remembering) that Tom Wilkinson played Falcone in Batman Begins. Thanks for pointing that out folks!

Leave it to Hollywood to change the basis of a storyline to glam things up a bit. Last year, Martha Fischer reviewed Lonely Hearts for the Tribeca Film Festival. The story is based on the Lonely Hearts Killers -- a murderous and far-from-glamorous duo/couple from the late 1940's. He was a balding, toupee-wearing man with a large scar on the top of his head, she was a 200+ pound woman who had spent her life lonely and ridiculed. That obviously doesn't make for sexy cinema, so the leads were cast with Jared Leto as Raymond Fernandez and Salma Hayek as Martha Beck.

It's actually interesting that the story was so sauced up, since the screenwriter and director is Todd Robinson -- the grandson of Detective Elmer C. Robinson, who was one of the detectives in the case. I guess familial ties can't also ensure accuracy. Now the film, which follows predecessors like The Honeymoon Killers and Deep Crimson, has found itself a U.S. distributor in Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn films. Beyond Leto and Hayek, there's John Travolta without the Hogs as Detective Robinson, James Gandolfini as his partner, Charles Hildebrandt, Scott Caan as another detective and Laura Dern as a co-worker who is having an affair with Robinson. As Martha described in her review, the story focuses on both sides of the story -- the couple who kill and the police duo who hunt them down. You won't have to wait too long to see the film for yourself, as the plan is to release it next month, on April 13.

Although New Orleans is still recuperating from massive wind and flood damage wreaked during and after Katrina, Mardi Gras celebrations continue, as festive as ever. As usual, the celebrities chosen to ride on floats during the larger and more elaborate parades include some familiar Hollywood names. On Sunday night, actor James Gandolfini will be riding in the Bacchus parade. On Monday night at Orpheus, a newer parade that was founded by Harry Connick, Jr., you can see Connick and actress Patricia Clarkson (Good Night and Good Luck, All the King's Men). Connick's dad was the district attorney of New Orleans, and Clarkson's mom has been a New Orleans city council member.

Not only are stars riding on floats, but you never know who else might pop into the Big Easy, especially with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt having moved there recently. Our sister site Blogging New Orleans has composed a helpful (and very funny) guide of Mardi Gras essentials for visiting celebrities. Even if you're not a Hollywood star, if you're traveling to Fat Tuesday from California or New York, you might want to check out the list of what to bring. Personally, I give everyone the same advice for attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans: Wear comfy closed-toe shoes that you won't cry over if they get covered in trash, mud, stale beer, and unspeakable bodily fluids.

The New York Times tells us what happens when bad word of mouth hits before the movie does. It kills it pretty much dead. Sony Pictures ran into this with their latest dead-in-the-water film, All The King's Men. The film opened this past weekend at seventh place with only $3.8 million in ticket sales, and a cast that most studios would kill for: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Patricia Clarkson, Mark Ruffalo, and James Gandolfini. That has to smart; you'd expect to get at least four or five good movies out of those cast members, and instead Sony is left holding the bag on a real clunker.

The problem, as the article states, is that once a studio announces that a film is being pushed back, it is basically announcing that "this sucker ain't done yet, we're putting it back in the oven and hoping for the best!" That kills any sort of forward momentum the film has, makes people scratch their heads and wonder what the heck the problem is, and almost always gives rise to a rumor somewhere that something has gone terribly wrong. It's bad enough when a studio doesn't hold any press screenings, like the recent Snakes on a Plane, but even worse when they reschedule anything for a year later. Just look at what happened to Mike Judge's Idiocracy. Shelving it made the movie even dumber.

As I stare at the picture of Brad Pitt above, knowing that, to some women, he is considered the hottest piece of hot to ever grace the planet Hot, I question what it actually takes to be that kind of man. A real man. With a gun at my side and an open field of opportunity before me.

I mean, is there a "Guide to Becoming a Real Man" manual that I can buy? If I don't follow the manual strictly, does that mean I'm a fake man? And if I did turn out to be a fake man, could I skip work and use that as an excuse? "Well, see sir, I'm not a real man. I'm fake. Yeah, even if I did come into work, nothing real would get done. Everyone knows a fake man cannot do real work. Right?"

Regardless of what your definition of a "real man" is, the following films all feature men with real problems. Okay, one of them is about teenagers, but the director is a real maniac -- so that counts. I think. While I go off to try and figure out whether or not a real man is allowed to crave his Mom's cupcakes, how about you stick here and check out the following real trailers? Welcome to this week's Trailer Park ...