joseph gordon levitt Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You probably remember that a little over a year ago, the news hit that Leonardo DiCaprio would be producing a live action version of the beloved anime, Akira, and as to be expected, fans were peeved. Within minutes, comment boards (including ours) were jammed with cries of white-washing, racism, and general predictions of overall crappiness. But, if you happen to have been one of those fans crying for blood; I've got some good news for you. Bloody Disgusting now reports that the live-action Akira has been pronounced "Dead as a doornail" by not one, but two inside sources -- I guess we should have seen this coming when the film was promised to be released in 2009, and there wasn't a signed cast member in sight.

For those not familiar with Akira, it was the story of a teen biker gang member who is subjected to government experiments and unleashes destruction on a post-nuclear Tokyo. Ruairi Robinson had originally been slated to direct a script by Gary Whitta (Book of Eli), but DiCaprio had promised that they wouldn't be moving ahead with Akira until they had a quality script, so maybe Whitta could have been the source of the delay. Either way, I guess we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Tetsuo and the gang are safe from the monster known as 'reboot fever'...at least for now, anyway.

After the jump; status reports on other classic anime in line for a Hollywood makeover...

When Kimberly Peirce gave us Boys Don't Cry, it was a critical explosion. She came, she moved us, and Hilary Swank came out of it with an Oscar. The film raised our expectations, and they rested there as Peirce moved out of the spotlight and worked behind the camera. The wait lasted almost a decade, but after nine years, she was finally back with Stop Loss -- another film in the cinematic, Iraq War whirlwind. While it was destined to fall under the weight of Iraq apathy, it was another example of Peirce's commitment to personal stories.

Stop Loss is the fictional account of a real problem: over a hundred thousand soldiers have been denied release when their time in Iraq is up. Instead of best wishes, they're sent back to Iraq, and life beyond the war's struggles becomes a distant, vague hope, rather than a present reality. Ryan Phillipe stars as Sgt. Brandon King, a man who is headed towards the end of his time in Iraq, or so he thinks. First, his unit is tricked and attacked. He loses some of his men, and struggles with the realities of warfare -- dead friends, and the fact that no matter how hard you try, innocent people will fall in the fight.

Cinematical has received this exclusive poster for Miracle at St. Anna (click to enlarge), the highly-anticipated new film from director Spike Lee. Based on the novel by James McBride (who also penned the adaptation), Miracle at St. Anna follows four black American soldiers (and members of the US Army's all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division) who, while stationed in Tuscany, Italy during World War II, find themselves trapped behind enemy lines and separated from their unit when one of them risks his life to save an Italian boy.

Starring Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Matteo Sciabordi, John Leguizamo and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Miracle at St. Anna marks Lee's first foray into war flicks, and it will certainly be interesting to see his trademark style applied to this type of movie. I thoroughly enjoyed both Inside Man and When the Levees Broke, and feel Lee is entering a new, exciting time in his career -- one I'm definitely down for being a part of. What about you?

Miracle at St. Anna arrives in theaters on September 26.

Okay, I admit it. I've had a serious film-crush on Gael Garcia Bernal ever since I saw him in Amores Perros (It's all about the acting -- nothing to do with his gorgeous jawline. Really.) My crush further solidified with Y Tu Mama Tambien a year later. Bernal has been slowly and steadily notching an impressive number of solid roles on his belt, with The Motorcyle Diaries in 2004, and two films currently in arthouse theaters: Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep, and The King, directed by James Marsh.

As if that weren't enough hot roles for a serious young actor, Bernal has a starring role in Babel, debuting next week at Cannes, and four -- FOUR -- films in pre-prod. One of those films, Toto, is a soccer film, so Martha can start going into her soccer-movie ecstasies now. Also on his plate: O, Pasado, directed by Hector Babenco (Kiss of the Spiderwoman), about a man who ends a relationship but is still hounded by his ex; Deficit, which he is also directing (because, you know, he's just not busy enough lately), about a clash between two social classes at a family gathering in Mexico; and the one I'm personally most excited about, Master of Space and Time, another Gondry flick with a screenplay by Daniel Clowes (Art School Confidential, Ghost World). 

 Whew. I'm tired just thinking about everything Bernal is juggling, but I'm ecstatic to have so many opportunities to see him on the big screen. I love how Bernal is mixing up the Spanish films with stuff like Babel and the freaky-good Gondry films, too. All you pretty-boy actors out there who think you have to take roles in crap movies to build a career? Start taking notes, because Bernal (along with some other smart young actors like Joseph Gordon Levitt and Lee Taylor Pucci) is doing it right. And wouldn't I love to see Levitt and Bernal do a film together? You bet I would.