kate bosworth Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Some more cast members have been revealed for Rod Lurie's "re-imagining" of Sam Peckinpah's controversial '70s thriller Straw Dogs, which is good because it just started filming in Shreveport, LA. Like, yesterday. James Woods (one of my favorite creeps) has joined the cast, as have Willa Holland and Dominic Purcell; however, there's no real info on who they will be playing, as the three leads have already been cast.

Kate Bosworth is taking on the complicated character of Amy Sumner, who was played by Susan George in the original; James Marsden is her husband, David, originally played by Dustin Hoffman, and Alexander Skarsgård is her ex-boyfriend Charlie, Susan's ex and the ringleader of the escalating violence against the couple.

In Lurie's version, the Sumners relocate to Amy's hometown in Mississippi instead of Cornwall, and David is a screenwriter from Los Angeles rather than a milquetoast mathematician. I'm very curious to see how Lurie plans to handle the ambiguities of the original, especially the rape scene that had many critics leveling charges of misogyny against Peckinpah.

Did this movie really need a "re-imagining?" Can we please think of a new term of directors and writers who take pre-existing characters and put them in almost the same circumstances but in different locations? How will the cast hold up to the original? And let's not forget the iconic poster from the original -- that will be hard to top.

Some mid-week casting nibblets:

The wonderful Willem Dafoe is about to make a trip to Mars. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Dafoe has signed on to play Tars Tarkas in the Civil War/space project John Carter of Mars. Seeing Dafoe take a slight pause from his horror-filled schedule is nice, and it's even better that Tarkas is both a great warrior and compassionate man -- a gig that Dafoe should be able to tackle easily. But there is a twist -- Dafoe is once again going green for a gig. This is what Tarkas looks like.

And it's been a while since we got casting news for Rod Lurie's Straw Dogs remake, but now Variety reports that Kate Bosworth and Alexander Skarsgard are joining the roster. Bosworth will play James Marsden's wife, as they leave Hollywood for her Mississippi hometown. Skarsgard will play her old high school boyfriend and ex-football hero. One things for certain: this isn't the usual crop of names one would see on such an epically violent story.

Meanwhile, Christine Baranski will play Jennifer Aniston's mom in her Gerard Butler comedy Bounty Hunter, according to Variety. There's still no word on just what kind of fugitive Aniston is, and why, but Baranski should make things interesting.

And finally, Patrick Dempsey is changing things up a bit with a new big-screen role. Variety reports that he'll star in Universal's adaptation of The Art of Racing in the Rain. Yes, it's a racing movie, but not exactly a racing movie. See, it's fueled by memories from "Enzo, a family dog with a near-human soul and philosopher's mind, who evaluates his life through the lessons learned by his human owner, the race-car driver Denny Swift." No romance and fairy tale quirk this time around, just a little Marley magic and a bit of Dempsey's own race car driving ways.

Robert Rodriguez remaking a campy 60s sci-fi flick is one thing, but Robert Luketic? Robert Luketic, the man who perpetrated Monster-in-Law? The director of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!? That's the guy they want to redo Roger Vadim's 1968 Barbarella? Well, that's the rumor reported by Starpulse, who claim that "the project has been saved" by Luketic.

As Monika Bartyzel recapped last month, Robert Rodriguez wanted a big budget to fulfill his big dreams, and Universal balked at the budget. German financiers offered him $70 million but wanted the production in Europe, and Rodriguez balked at spending all that time away from his children. So no Rodriguez, no Rose McGowan -- the perfect choice for the character -- no modern take on Barbarella, the role in which Jane Fonda thrilled teenage boys everywhere with her slinky sexiness.

What would another Robert do with the project? The Australian Luketic famously debuted as a director with Legally Blonde, a frothy comedy that boosted the fortunes of Reese Witherspoon, and more recently made the flashy 21, which grossed more than $150 million worldwide. Here's an out-of-left-field thought: what if he cast Kate Bosworth as the erotic, leather-clad heroine? The two first worked together in Tad Hamilton before reuniting for 21. While we wait for the rumor to be confirmed or denied, who would you cast as Barbarella?

"She really found me at a point when I needed to be found." -- Jim Sturgess on Julie Taymor:

In 21, which hits theaters tomorrow, Jim Sturgess plays Ben Campbell, an M.I.T. student who's recruited into a group of Vegas card counters by a fellow student. In fact, the entire group is made up of students and its leader, Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), also happens to be a professor at the University. The fact-based film was inspired by the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich, and most of what you will see in 21 really happened -- with certain faces, places, names and events changed to fit a more Hollywood-ized mold. Directed by Robert Luketic, 21 also stars Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Aaron Yoo and Liza Lapira.

Sturgess is a relatively new face to Hollywood. His first major film role only came last year, when director Julie Taymor cast the soft-spoken Brit opposite Evan Rachel Wood in Across the Universe. From there, this musician-turned-actor appeared in the recent The Other Boleyn Girl before taking on his first lead role in a major Hollywood film, 21. Upon meeting him, one can immediately tell this boy has the looks and charm to carry him real far. He's already scheduled to appear in the star-studded Crossing Over and the flick Fifty Dead Men Walking. Cinematical sat down with Sturgess in New York recently to talk about 21, as well as his blossoming career.

For once, I'm happy to say that "death" teamed with the name Sarah Michelle Gellar does not mean that she's taking on another crappy horror remake. Variety reports that she's in final negotiations to star in the indie drama Veronika Decides to Die. Yes, this means she is taking over for Kate Bosworth who was attached to the film last September. One petite blonde out, and another sometimes-blonde in.

Adapted from Paulo Coelho's book by Larry Gross and Roberta Hanley, Veronika Decides to Die focuses on a depressed woman who gets reinvigorated by life after a suicide attempt. However, she won't have long to enjoy it because her attempt irreparably damaged her heart. But, oh so heart-tuggingly, dramatically, and romantically apt -- her damaged heart finds love and a new desire to live.

I'm teasing the plot because, well, it has the possibility of terrible cliche. At the same time, however, I'm happy to see Gellar go back to drama, and in something that came remind us why she was so huge on Buffy. Now if Alyson Hannigan could only find some sort of meaty role to tackle...

So even if you choose to ignore the somewhat 'white-washed' casting for the big-screen version of Bringing Down the House, if you are a fan of the book you can't help but notice that there seems to be very little that remains of the original (and fascinating) story of a group of 'math nerds' who became high stakes card sharks. Sony has just launched the official site for 21 starring Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, and Kevin Spacey. Their site offers plenty of small video clips to watch and the usual downloadable offerings, but inexplicably they never give you the chance to play a little black jack of your own.

21 centers on "Six MIT students, in a blackjack team, [who] train to become experts in card counting and subsequently take Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. However, casino workers become suspicious and attempt to take down the team, using any means necessary." Sturgess plays Ben Campell, a numbers genius who is struggling to pay his bills. He is recruited into a team of card counters by his professor (as played by Spacey) and as to be expected, the good times don't last long. Ben starts to lose control and his mentor and friends turn on him just as the casinos are starting to catch on to the scam.

To be honest, as much as I enjoyed the book, I don't think I will be first in line for this one. Part of what made the book so interesting to me was that these were just regular people who became 'criminals'. The film seems to want to take a more Ocean's 11 approach right down to the music in the trailer, and, frankly, it's been done before. 21 hits theaters on March 28th.

It seems like just a few months ago we were enjoying the sights, the sounds, the smells and the cinema of South By Southwest 2007, but guess what? Now that it's January, the festival's only about nine weeks away! Awesome! So today we caught some slightly early news on what SXSW is cooking up for this March, and I must say I'm pretty impressed with what they snagged for their opening night film.

And that film is: Robert Luketic's 21, which is based on the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. (You may remember Mr. Luketic from flicks like Legally Blonde, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, and Monster-in-Law.) Adapted by Ben Mezrich's book by screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb, 21 stars Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess. (Check out the trailer right here.)

And if that world premiere isn't cool enough, festival chief Matt Dentler has also divulged the following titles for SXSW '08:

At the Death House Door (Steve James & Peter Gilbert) "A sobering and powerful story of the wrongful execution of Carlos DeLuna and the Death House Chaplain, Pastor Carroll Pickett, who spent the last day of DeLuna's life with him."

Dreams with Sharp Teeth (Erik Nelson) "A documentary portrait of acclaimed author Harlan Ellison, as he looks back on his fabled and influential career as one of the world's top science fiction writers."

Flawless (Michael Radford) "In 1960s London, a talented but overlooked diamond executive (Demi Moore) is convinced to participate in a jewelry heist when a veteran janitor (Michael Caine) hatches a plan."

Run Fatboy Run (David Schwimmer) "An out-of-shape divorced father (Simon Pegg) makes one last attempt to win back the respect of his son, his ex-wife (Thandie Newton), and the community around him. All he has to do is finish his first marathon."

Wild Blue Yonder (Celia Maysles) "Celia Maysles had no idea her father and his brother Albert were pioneers of verite documentary filmmaking. Determined to uncover the secrets surrounding her background, Celia sets out on a quest to rediscover her father by using his own artistic process."

Expect a few more flashy surprises before the full SXSW slate is announced on February 5! Until then, feel free to browse through the SXSW website and decide if THIS is the year you're finally going to take my advice and attend the dang festival. (You do know it's a movie AND music fest, right? Interactive, too, and I do believe I've mentioned the indigenous BBQ more than once.)

At this point, I'm starting to think that it's contractually obligated that if either Kevin Spacey or Kate Bosworth appears in a film, the other automatically gets a part. OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, but you can't deny that the two seem to really enjoy working together. Yahoo Movies is now hosting the trailer for their latest collaboration, 21, the real-life story of six M.I.T students who develop a foolproof plan to win at Black Jack. The film is based on the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich (and I guess I don't have to explain why they chose to go with the new title 21 -- I doubt Sony wanted their audiences getting the film confused with a C-grade Queen Latifah comedy).

The story centers on a group of M.I.T math students who along with their 'mentor' come up with a new system of "counting cards" -- if you haven't read the book and don't mind a little math in your light reading then I would definitely recommend it. Although I wouldn't recommend trying out their system, unless you don't mind the idea of getting roughed up by pit bosses.

The film was directed by Robert Luketic, who isn't exactly a household name, but is probably best known as the director of Legally Blonde. The book was adapted for the screen by Allan Loeb (Things We Lost in the Fire) and Peter Steinfeld (Analyze That). Joining Spacey and Bosworth are Laurence Fishburne in what looks like the role of a casino boss (better known as "the Heavy" in the flick) and Jim Sturgess as the newest member of the gang. 21 is set for release on March 28th, 2008.

I don't know about you, but when I'm faced with a heap of laundry, I throw on some weaponry and become The Laundry Warrior. Okay, not at all. I actually throw loads into the machine, and distract myself with video games. Regardless, I'm fairly intrigued about any flick that pops up with a name like Sngmoo Lee's fantasy film, The Laundry Warrior. Variety reports that it's an English-language hero film currently getting ready to film in New Zealand on November 12.

But it isn't some totally obscure flick with a cast you wouldn't know. Under Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne, the picture has collected a cast that includes Geoffrey Rush, Kate Bosworth, and Jang Dong-gun. With a $45 million budget, Laundry follows a fugitive Asian warrior played by Jang, who hides "in the American badlands, where he encounters the town drunk (Rush) and a beautiful, but troubled woman." Now, Variety doesn't have a nice, helpful paranthetical note for Bosworth, but I imagine she's the troubled gal that they mention.

After teaching at the New York Film School for a handful of years, this will be Lee's directorial debut. Producer Michael Peyser says: "We draw on two great milieux, the Samurai movie and the Western. We will deliver a stylized, partly anime feel, with the techniques of 300, but a look that is brighter." So, a Western Samurai movie shot like a bright 300 -- yay or nay?

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means -- time for The Write Stuff! This week Cinematical spoke with screenwriter Captain Mauzner. Mauzner has an interesting perspective on screenwriting because he's written two major films based on true events and actual people. He co-wrote 2003's Wonderland -- the story of the infamous "Wonderland Murders," which starred Val Kilmer as legendary porn star John Holmes. And he wrote last year's Factory Girl, the tale of Edie Sedgwick (played by Sienna Miller), Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce), and a Dylanesque "Musician" played by Hayden Christensen. We spoke about Mauzner's scripts, process, and the trickiness of writing scripts based on fact.

Cinematical: Are you working on anything right now?

Captain Mauzner: I am working on something right now, yeah. I'm adapting a book. It's a small book, it's called The Food Chain, by Geoff Nicholson. A friend of mine runs a small company and I'm adapting it with the hopes of directing it. It's kind of about food, sex, and cannibalism. Revenge, food, sex, and cannibalism.

Cinematical: Well, alright!

CM: It's a little dark comedy. It's fun. And what was nice about it was -- I've written so many things and a lot of them are true life stories, and they all seem to be about kind of deplorable human beings. And I think that my comfort zone is really kind of in the dark side -- the drug addicts, the deviants. And I think that as I've kind of gotten older and left that world myself, I guess you could say I've become less and less interested in it. You see these movies like Wonderland and Factory Girl and you could say "oh, they're like an argument against doing drugs." But I know for myself, there's always a glamorizing element to it. And as much as you want to say this is the downfall of these people, which it is -- and obviously there's nothing glamorous about the drug lifestyle, or the party lifestyle because it does lead to bad things. But just the act of writing about it or making these the main characters or trying to explain these people, I feel like that somewhat glamorizes it, or at least in my mind it was very glamorous. I had a very romantic notion, at like 14-years-old I discovered Bukowski and I was kind of off to the races. So I think that as I get older I'm ready to move on to maybe something light and happy. My family's always like "Why can't you write something that we can take Grandma to?"

Cinematical: So do you find when you're writing about drugs and debauchery, that you're not looking to condemn it and point a finger, you're just looking to present it and let the audience decide?

CM: Absolutely. I'm not looking to condemn it at all. I'm not looking to be moral about it. I believe in experimentation. I believe in doing kind of what you want and not having anybody else tell you what to do. I think that my fascination with it is always the "why." Why do people do this? I think that's kind of the fun of being able to do those kind of things is that you can live kind of vicariously through these people, and try to figure out the "why" without being judgmental.