Posts with tag katebeckinsale
'Whiteout' Finally Gets September Release Date
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Deals », Mystery & Suspense », Warner Brothers », Distribution », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Whiteout finally gets to come off my "Whatever happened to ... ?" list. According to ShockTillYouDrop.net, the Antarctic thriller finally has a release date of September 19th. The movie stars Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short and Alex O'Loughlin.
The film is based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka (and I love that they mimicked Frank Miller's cover for the poster at right). It follows Carrie Stetko, a U.S. Marshall working at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, and her investigation of a murder that takes place there. The location is what makes this murder mystery good and tense, as she has to investigate around the deadly climate of Antarctica, and find the killer before Antarctica is plunged into its six months of darkness.
I saw the teaser at last year's ComicCon and thought it looked like a good thrill ride -- and I actually managed to hold the opinion despite seeing it played twice in a row. It's a little odd that it has been delayed so long, as it was obviously finished as of last summer. I'll hold out hope, though, because Beckinsale is one of my favorite action chicks, and she was hilarious at the Whiteout panel, handling the sleazy comments with aplomb. Hopefully, we'll get to see that teaser on the Internet soon. I will probably watch it and wonder why I thought it looked good. Oh well.
A 'Fine' Cast Indeed -- DeNiro, Barrymore, Beckinsale and Rockwell!
Filed under: Casting », Family Films », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
This is really a cast that I could never have predicted. Variety reports that Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell have all been set to star in Everybody's Fine.Rewritten and directed by Kirk Jones (director of Nanny McPhee and Waking Ned Devine), Fine is a remake of Giuseppe Tornatore's film Stanno tutti bene. Miramax just snapped up the rights to the film, which will reportedly start shooting later this month in Connecticut.
De Niro plays a widower who realizes that he was only connected to his children via his wife. He decides to take a road trip to reestablish his relationship with his grown kids, and discovers that their lives are anything but fine. A few shades of About Schmidt there -- and hopefully it is along those solid lines, and not total syrup.
Review: Snow Angels
Filed under: Drama », Independent », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews »
With each picture since his 2000 debut George Washington, David Gordon Green has taken at least a small step backward. That gradual regression becomes a full-fledged precipitous decline with Snow Angels, a film in which the director (working from a novel by Stewart O'Nan) flails about in search of poetry, and comes up with only trivial stylistic flourishes that compound his story's overwrought faux-naturalism. Considering the lyrical grace of his heralded first feature, Green's devolution from one of American cinema's most promising talents to his current status as just another middling indie lightweight is tough to fathom. Yet with his latest, Green misses the mark in so many respects -- from a multi-strand plot devoid of insight, to performances that are generally overcooked, to a mise-en-scène that comes up largely empty in the department of inspired grace and beauty -- that it makes one wonder if his upcoming foray into director-for-hire work (with this summer's raunchy stoner comedy The Pineapple Express) isn't a shrewd attempt to escape his own increasingly faulty auteurist instincts.
'Snow Angels' Trailer Now Online
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Trailers and Clips »
After screening at Sundance last year, a trailer for Snow Angels has finally hit the net, which you can check out above. The latest from indie filmmaker David Gordon Green, Angels follows his small-town formula, but this time, with dueling stories of happiness and darkness. On the one hand, there's the burgeoning love story between Michael Angarano (the cutie from flicks like Almost Famous and Sky High) and Olivia Thirlby (who you might recognize as Juno's helpful best friend). On the other, there's a complicated familial story focusing on Kate Beckinsale, her estranged husband Sam Rockwell, and their young daughter. Making the whole deal even more tasty -- there's also the likes of Griffin Dunne, Amy Sedaris, and Nicky Katt.
If the trailer is any indication of the film, it should be a great cinematic experience. (But be warned: it does give a lot of detail into the film, as many trailers love to do.) However, if you need more of a reason to go see it, you can check out James Rocchi's glowing review from Sundance, as well as his interview with Green. On the flipside, you can check out Kevin Kelly's review, which was a bit less praising.
[via Empire]
Sarsgaard and Farmiga Join 'Orphan'
Filed under: Horror », Casting », Warner Brothers »
Variety reports that Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) have joined the cast of Dark Castle's Orphan. In a nod to Bad Seeds everywhere, the film focuses on a young couple (Sarsgaard and Farmiga) that have recently lost a child and decide to adopt a young girl to fill the void. Of course, nothing is ever that easy and the girl "is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be". David Leslie, a relative newcomer, wrote the screenplay based off an idea by Alex Mace. Already signed to direct is House of Wax helmer, Jaume Collet-Serra. Serra started off directing TV commercials and music videos, and Wax was his first big-budget production. Orphan seems like a definite step up for Serra; when your casting pool goes from Paris Hilton to Peter Sarsgaard you must be doing something right.Sarsgaard has already completed the Philip Roth adaptation Elegy with Penelope Cruz, and is wrapping up work on two more literary adaptations. First up is In the Electric Mist; based on James Lee Burke's novel about "A detective in the deep South is led into a series of surreal encounters with a troop of Confederate soldiers" and Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Farmiga is currently filming Nothing But The Truth, a political drama with Kate Beckinsale and will next star in a literary adaptation of her own called The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas for Mark Herman (Brassed Off). Orphan is set to start shooting next week on location in Toronto and Montreal, Canada.
A New Poster for Kate Beckinsale's 'Whiteout'
Filed under: Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Posters »
Beyond Hollywood now has the second poster for Dominic Sena's (Swordfish) thriller based on Greg Rucka's graphic novel, Whiteout. Rucka's limited series was originally released in 1998, and the original story had two female agents investigating a murder in McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Rights were originally purchased in 1999, and here we are eight years later and after a few quick casting switches, Kate Beckinsale was signed to play U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko. Casting was finalized back in March when Gabriel Macht (The Spirit) singed on as UN operative, Alex O'Loughlin, and Tom Skerrit in an unnamed role.A teaser poster had been released for ComicCon back in July, and, frankly, I thought it was pretty blah. Especially when you consider the quality of the art in the graphic novels; Beckinsale pouting just doesn't quite do it for me. So is the new poster any better you might ask? Well, it's better, but not by much. Maybe I'm asking too much from my movie posters, but I just can't get all that jazzed about something that looks like it could double as a Ray Bans ad.
It hasn't been an easy road to get Whiteout to production. Starting back in 1999 when Colombia Pictures first picked up the film rights and to commission a script from Jon and Erich Hoeber, oddly enough, the first order of business was to do away with one of the female leads in the story and to switch to a man (so much for girl power I guess). Whiteout is set for release in October 2008. See the full poster after the jump.
Sony's New Stage 6 to Release Sequels to 'Vacancy,' Starship Troopers,' 'Center Stage'
Filed under: Action », Drama », Horror », Thrillers », New Releases », Sony », Distribution », Exhibition », Home Entertainment », Remakes and Sequels »
Sony Pictures has just launched Stage 6 Films, "a label that will acquire and produce films for theatrical and straight-to-DVD release." The Variety announcement reports that Stage 6 will focus mostly on the DVD market, and on films budgeted at $1 to $10 million dollars. They've got a lot of movies on the horizon, with some pretty big stars involved. Conspiracy is an action flick starring Val "Iceman" Kilmer, Gary "Lumbergh" Cole, and Jennifer "Hot" Esposito. Thomas Jane is acting in and directing Dark Country (hope it's not a punisher!). The Stone House is a horror film starring Shane West and JK "Schillinger" Simmons. The Lodger stars Alfred Molina, whom I always picture in his underwear singing "Sister Christian." And Felon brings us even more Kilmer thrills, with Stephen Dorff and Harold Perrineau in tow.
And you know when you're talking direct-to-DVD, you're talking about some really random sequels. Stage 6 has announced a prequel (a prequel?) to this year's pretty cool horror flick Vacancy. There will also be a second Starship Troopers sequel -- Starship Troopers: Marauder, with Casper "Van Dien" Van Dien, Boris Kodjoe, and Jolene Blalock. Wesley Snipes will star in a sequel to the absolutely terrible action movie The Art of War, which I will refer to as The Art of War 2: Seriously? And Center Stage 2 will capitalize on the public's love of melodramatic teen dance dramas. I must confess a special place in my heart for the original Stage, because it led to a memorable high school back seat rendezvous. Put that quote on your poster, Sony! "Stage 6 will also continue to leverage our vast library of studio films, as we have done with Daddy Day Camp and the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise," threatens a Stage 6 executive.
Who's Still Waiting for That 'Underworld' Prequel?
Filed under: Action », Horror », Sony », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
It's been over a year since we've talked about the possibility of a third Underworld movie, but leave it to sites like ComingSoon.net to ask the nerdly questions we all want answered. (Although after Underworld: Evolution I'm wondering how strong the demand still is.) While out promoting his new film (Feast of Love), producer Tom Rosenberg was asked about the status of the Underworld series.As we told you a while back, the third Underflick promises to be A) a prequel and B) sans Kate Beckinsale. Husband / director Len Wiseman is still staying on as a producer (and possibly writer), but it looks like we'll have a new helmer and a lovely new "death dealer" to focus our eyeballs upon. We're promised an official announcement some time soon, but when asked if the next flick could re-invigorate the franchise, Mr. Rosenberg offered this: "It could. It's a prequel. Some people think it could be rebooted. I don't know. I'm not there yet."
And hey, if we can have three Resident Evils, I guess we can have three Underworlds. And just so we're all up to speed: The original Underworld came out in September of 2003, grossed just under $97 million worldwide and racked up a 30% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes. (Sue me, I dig the first one!) Evolution struck in January of '06, pulled in about $112 million worldwide and scored a whopping 13% at RT. And as is usually the case where slickly-produced studio genre fare is concerned, both flicks sold like hotcakes on DVD.
So perhaps DVD is where the future of this series lies...
Len Wiseman to Direct 'Escape from New York' Remake
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », New Line », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
Len Wiseman did the nearly unthinkable this summer and made me like (not love, mind you, but certainly enjoy) a fourth Die Hard film. I was mighty concerned going in that the guy would dump all over one of the greatest movie series ever made, but instead Wiseman made a solid flick with some very cool action scenes (loved that tunnel "lights out" sequence in particular). Miraculously, the movie didn't make me cringe once. Live Free or Die Hard won't join "The Thrillogy" in my DVD collection, but it impressed me with all the mistakes it didn't make. I never saw Wiseman's Underworld films, but now there's a much greater chance I'll queue the suckers up. And Wiseman must be feeling pretty cocky these days, (being married to Kate Beckinsale probably helps) because he's following up LFODH with another project that could potentially tick off action fans.The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Wiseman is in negotiations to direct the remake of Escape From New York. 300's abbed-up hero Gerard Butler is attached to star as Snake Plissken, a role memorably played by Kurt Russell in John Carpenter's original film and the dreary sequel Escape From LA. Ken Nolan (writer of Black Hawk Down) wrote the script for the remake, which "will combine an origin story for Plissken merged with the story of the 1981 movie." That story, for those of you who've never seen the Carpenter classic, envisions a futuristic (the original was set in 1997) New York City as one big maximum security prison. When the president's plane crashes, inmate Plissken is sent on a mission to rescue him. Carpenter will executive produce the new film. For some past Escape news, here's a script review, Kurt Russell's angry response to Butler's casting and the project in general, and his later, friendlier response to the film, What say you, Cinematical readers? Wiseman and Butler -- can they pull this thing off?
Comic-Con: Teaser Poster for Kate Beckinsale's 'Whiteout'
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Warner Brothers », Fandom », Images », ComicCon »
.jpg)
T
I wasn't there, but by all accounts one of the highlights of this year's Con -- which was a little tepid on the news front -- was Kate Beckinsale's odd behavior at the panel for her upcoming film, Whiteout. After joining the panel in media res, she apparently peppered her statements with a string of sexual non sequiturs and then mentioned that she enjoyed being beat up on camera. After the panel was over, she joined the post-panel roundtables only to bail out of them halfway through. Again, I wasn't there, but that's the scuttlebutt from those who were on the ground. Anyway, I'm actually looking forward to her upcoming film, Whiteout -- for some reason, movies set in the Arctic always intrigue me. I have no idea why, but there you go. Above is the teaser poster, unveiled at the Con and being hosted by ComingSoon.net. The film is set to hit theaters sometime in 2008.
Live from SDCC: Preview Night Gallery!
Live from SDCC: Time to Get Our Con On!
Discuss: Wednesday is the New Friday_thumbnail.jpg)
EXCLUSIVE: 'Lakeview Terrace' Poster Premiere
Discuss: Are Male Critics Sexist Against 'Mamma Mia!'?
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg){kind=spacer}
_thumbnail.jpg "Watchmen Storyboards")
