jennifer connelly Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Most Profitable Star: Naomi Watts
Filed under: Newsstand »
In this time of economic uncertainty and the potential evaporating of the old, reliable Hollywood star system, some math nerds may have saved the jobs of ten lucky actresses. Forbes Magazine has recently completed its annual list of female stars that provide the most bang for the buck. Their poll process is pretty complex. To qualify, actors must have appeared in at least three movies over the past five years that opened on 500 screens or more. Someone then adds up and averages the actors' salary on each film, each film's budget and each film's final gross. This year's winner: Naomi Watts, who earned $44 for each $1 she was paid. Despite starring in interesting movies like The Painted Veil, Funny Games and Eastern Promises, it looks as if Watts' place on the list was snagged mostly by King Kong, which earned $550 million worldwide.
TIFF: 'Creation' Finds No Distribution, Hopes for Controversy to Help
Filed under: Drama », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Distribution », Toronto International Film Festival »
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Long after his death, Charles Darwin continues to stir up fuss over his landmark theories of evolution, and the producers of TIFF Opening Night Film Creation (watch the trailer after the jump) are clearly hoping to milk said fuss for all the Stateside distribution it's worth.
The Telegraph of the UK has producer Jeremy Thomas on the record as saying, "It has got a deal everywhere else in the world but in the US, and it's because of what the film is about." He then cites early rave reviews, including anonymous word-of-mouth calling it "the best film they've seen all year", the Hollywood Reporter's positive reaction and the Telegraph's own 300-word review -- accessible through the sponsored page of content linked within the article.
But many critics have simply found the film to be too much of a bore to merit controversy. The A.V. Club's Noel Murray said, "for the most part Creation is Biopic 101, earnest and over-explained." Eric Kohn at Indiewire called it "a dry period piece missing crucial information," while Anne Thompson went with "flat, dull, and painful to sit through." And Ebert? Well, he's basically said that he'll hold his opinion until the film opens, a date which remains to be determined.
At least his non-review can claim to run twice as long as the Telegraph's unabashed praise.
Review: 9
Filed under: Action », Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Theatrical Reviews », Focus Features »
It's safe to say that every film starts out small, and that many of them then end up staying small for any number of reasons. Beyond that, only a lucky few make the leap to feature-length, and even then, it doesn't always turn out for the best. Saw was once a mere fraction of itself, a grimy and gritty little morality play unlikely to spawn a seriously successful franchise that just won't die. The minds behind Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow dedicated themselves for years to creating a low-budget trailer for the film, only to then be granted the chance to flesh out their pulpy serial throwback with millions more. Wouldn't you know it, District 9 just became the summer's least expected blockbuster to the tune of $100 million, and even that was born of a like-minded showcase reel.
And then there's Shane Acker, whose original short for 9 was a wordless little post-apocalyptic breath-taker that rightfully earned itself an Academy Award nomination in 2005. Once an expanded take garnered the support of a recognizable voice cast and producers like Tim Burton, his vision was well on its way to the big screen, and all things considered, it's a small wonder that this small wonder made it through the Hollywood machine with most (though not all) of its mystique intact...
SDCC: Burton, Bekmambetov and '9'
Filed under: Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Exhibition », ComicCon »
Friday afternoon Hall H attendees were treated to their second chance to speak to Tim Burton (following his appearance Thursday for Alice in Wonderland), and their first look at the new film 9. Directed by Shane Acker, the film is produced by Burton and Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov, both of whom offered a few insights about their own work as they showcased the results of the first-time filmmaker's adaptation of his own animated short film.
Among the details revealed during the 9 panel:
Review: He's Just Not That Into You
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Romance », New Line », Theatrical Reviews »
Living lives of loud desperation for the sake of your entertainment / enjoyment / enlightenment (a generous assessment on all three counts) are Rachel from Friends, the Mac Guy, Firestarter, Daredevil, and a dozen other familiar faces and names, all of them hell-bent on telling you that if He's Just Not That Into You, all one merely has to do is swap out that target of affection. In a weird way, it's a strategy that the film itself seems to employ: If you don't like what supposed relationship insights we have to offer up across 10 blocks of Baltimore and 130 minutes of running time, just wait -- we all change our tune to make each other happy eventually.
Since this romantic omnibus already has too many characters for its own good, let's go ahead and get their introductions out of the way real quick like. There's the desperate-to-date-and-then-some Ginnifer Goodwin, who is blown off by Kevin Connolly in favor of the company of Scarlett Johansson, and who is friends with Jennifer Connelly and Jennifer Aniston and, now, Connolly's frank pal Justin Long. (With me so far?) Connolly buys ad space in the local paper from Drew Barrymore and yet flirts with Barrymore's friend, Johansson, who is herself more interested in tempting Bradley Cooper, who is currently married to Connelly (Jennifer, not Kevin) and happens to be friends with Ben Affleck, who refuses to propose to long-time love interest Aniston, and oh, great, now I've gone all cross-eyed.
Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Theatrical Reviews », 20th Century Fox », Remakes and Sequels »
This may sound silly, but there's no way that The Day The Earth Stood Still would exist today in any sort of proverbial vacuum. To get the most obvious reason out of the way, we wouldn't have the 1951 original to lift from, in which an extraterrestrial visitor advises Earthlings to knock off their paranoid Cold War aggression, or else. Secondly, this incarnation is so transparently indebted to the likes of Twentieth Century Fox's other PG-13 sci-fi actioners, Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, that it's hard to imagine the same studio putting out this film first. Better yet, try seeing this particular re-imagining come about without the success of Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds bolstering the profile of other '50s sci-fi efforts (new variations on Forbidden Planet and When Worlds Collide loom still on the horizon).
No, I'm afraid that it was fated to be that the Earth would stand still once more, albeit in Manhattan instead of Washington D.C., because that's how Roland Emmerich would've done it, and with a robotic threat adjusted from the height of Yao Ming to something several stories taller. Who needs flying saucers when giant orbs will do? And why bother with a pesky still-relevant message against the tolls of war when environmental concerns are all the rage? If anything, TDTESS '08 shares most characteristics with the aforementioned metallic menace: it's sleek, loud and incapable of expressing emotion beyond some big booms.
Watch This: Seven Minutes of 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'
Filed under: Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Mystery & Suspense », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Remakes and Sequels », Trailers and Clips »
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While it doesn't arrive in theaters until December, Fox feels pretty confident in their The Day the Earth Stood Still remake -- so much so that they aired roughly seven and a half minutes of footage last night during a repeat of the Fringe pilot. Seems a bit odd to show that much footage this far in advance of the film's release date, but apparently Fox wants to build good buzz now ... and, thankfully, it would appear the film warrants it.
The footage (which you can see after the jump) is not comprised of one, long extended scene. Instead, we're taken through a whole bunch of scenes from what would appear to be the first half of the film, with some playing out a bit longer than others. Essentially, The Day the Earth Stood Still tells of an alien visitor (Keanu Reeves) and a giant robot who land on earth and turn the place upside down. Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, Kathy Bates and John Cleese also star. Check out the seven-minute clip after the jump.
The Day the Earth Stood Still hits theaters on December 12.
Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany Debate 'Creation'
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Casting », Deals », Celebrities and Controversy », Scripts », Newsstand », Religious »
Acting couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly must have decided that life would be too calm after November 2008 -- so they have signed to play Charles and Emma Darwin in Creation. Yes, the Darwins. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will be directed by Jon Amiel, from a script penned by John Collee, and based on Randal Keynes' book Annie's Box. (Keynes is Darwin's great-great grandson.) The film will portray Charles Darwin as a man torn between his love for his deeply religious wife, and his growing belief in a world where God has no place. I hope that they explore Darwin's personal struggles and belief more deeply than the plot description suggests. To sell him as an athiest smacks of wanting to stir up controversy -- Darwin always called himself an agonostic, and his rejection of Christianity stemmed as much from the tragic death of his daughter, Annie, as his research. It's a complex and fascinating biography, one that, as a lover of science and the history of it, I would love to see done with real justice.
The cast is certainly more than capable -- Bettany and Connelly are both wonderful, and they'll be joined by Jeremy Northam, Toby Jones, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Annie Darwin has yet to be cast. (I can't help but be amused by the fact that Bettany and Northam have played Darwin-inspired characters before, in Master and Commander and Possession, respectively. Pet interest, perhaps?)
I know the merest mention of Charles Darwin is enough to cause an epic flame war in the comments. If it's possible, try to keep discussion only to the film, the actors, the book, and Darwin's biography. That may be too much to hope for, but I beg you to remain respectful and tolerant of one another.
What New Revelations Lie Within the 'Dark City' Director's Cut???
Filed under: Classics », Drama », Horror », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Noir », Mystery & Suspense », Fandom », Home Entertainment », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
What is the appropriate reaction to have when a movie you love, adore, and cherish is somehow ... improved? I know, it's a strange feeling. I happen to think my all-time favorite film (A L I E N) is much better in its theatrical version than in its extended -- but where Aliens is concerned, I much prefer the longer version! It's something you have to approach on a case-by-case basis, of course, and it's the sort of movie-nerd activity that should be attempted only by those with a lot of free time -- or someone who gets paid to write about this sort of stuff. (Fortunately I am both.)
So it was with MUCH enthusiasm that I sat down with the brand-new Director's Cut of Dark City, a film that I absolutely love a whole lot -- and I know I'm not nearly alone when I say that. Like many of the finest sci-fi films, Dark City was pretty much overlooked for a good long while -- put once it hit DVD and heavy rotation on the cable channels, the sci-fi freaks found a film worth watching and re-watching, to say nothing of analyzing, deconstructing, and debating. And so I happily continue that trend by explaining what the fans will find in New Line's very impressive new Dark City package...
SDCC '08: The All-Star 'Celebrities Tolerate Weinberg' Gallery!
Filed under: Fandom », ComicCon »
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I don't ask for autographs, I don't send fan letters, and I certainly don't wait around in front of hotels or press lines -- but I do get to attend some verrrrry geeky movie events, I do have a few very cool friends, and (get this) I'm a pretty friendly and sincere guy. So sometimes I get cool snapshots. Call it a hobby inspired by the time I did a (very brief) Sundance interview with the monolithic James Woods and walked away without a photo with one of my actor-heroes. (Despite the fact that I had a perfectly good camera in my pocket.) Plus I work for a cool movie blog, which means I can get photos like these and actually call it ... work! (muffled giggles)
My gracious thanks to everyone in and behind the photos. And my apologies to everyone else for my always looking so bald, sweaty, and tired. (You only see pictures of me when I'm exhausted. Plus I'm just plain old goofy looking, so save your comments.)
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Exclusive 'Nine' Poster Premiere!
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
Movie Popcorn is Bad for You? Who Knew?_thumbnail.jpg)
'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
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