luke wilson Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Shelf Life: Bottle Rocket
Wes Anderson's movies have entertained and enchanted audiences for more than a decade now, offering a singular and yet strangely universal point of view time and again about oddballs and outsiders who simply want their creativity to connect with others. This week, Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox arrives in theaters (in limited release), and while we've already fallen in love with the his latest work (thanks in no small part to his particularly fertile adaptation of author Roald Dahl's source material), it seemed appropriate to go back and revisit his first film, the oft-forgotten Bottle Rocket, to remind ourselves where the writer-director started, if not where our love affair with his work began.
As longtime fans of the filmmaker (I remember reviewing this in 1996 when it was first released, and later declared his follow-up, Rushmore, one of my all-time favorites), this is one of his only movies I haven't seen what seems like a hundred times. Thankfully, Criterion's stunning Blu-ray, released late last year, not only offer the best-ever presentation of the film, but a bounty of extras to add context to Anderson's indefatigable creativity. But as for the movie itself?
Do Girls Dream of 'Geeky Dreamboats'?
Filed under: Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
I said in my Geek Beat this week that I never receive swag -- but apparently being the authoress of so many "geek" tagged posts gets you a copy of this: a little pocket book called Geeky Dreamboats that's basically a hardcover Teen Beat. I found it in my mailbox yesterday, and after a bit of initial disappointment that it wasn't a pocket sized copy of Clint Eastwood: A Life in Pictures, I gave it the time of day.
I'm actually a little perplexed by it. I thought it was meant as a joke, what with the hearts and lipstick marks and all, but it seems to be fairly sincere. But the selections are bizarre! Some of them seem to be geeky dreamboats purely because they played a character with glasses. Others, like Zac Efron and Shia LaBeouf, seem to be exactly the kind of pretty boy the authoresses rail against. In what universe are Luke and Owen Wilson geeks? And surely guys from geek movies should figure into this? Most geek chicks I know consider their "geek crush" to be the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Hugh Jackman, or Christian Bale.
Seeing as it was a slow news day (and they did go to the trouble of sending me a copy), I thought I'd show it off to the girls out there and we could get all girly about it in the comments. It is kind of interesting because it's one of the first geek things I've seen geared towards women, and acknowledges them as part of this trend. I just wish it reflected our tastes a little better, and wasn't plasted with hearts!
I'm actually a little perplexed by it. I thought it was meant as a joke, what with the hearts and lipstick marks and all, but it seems to be fairly sincere. But the selections are bizarre! Some of them seem to be geeky dreamboats purely because they played a character with glasses. Others, like Zac Efron and Shia LaBeouf, seem to be exactly the kind of pretty boy the authoresses rail against. In what universe are Luke and Owen Wilson geeks? And surely guys from geek movies should figure into this? Most geek chicks I know consider their "geek crush" to be the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Hugh Jackman, or Christian Bale.
Seeing as it was a slow news day (and they did go to the trouble of sending me a copy), I thought I'd show it off to the girls out there and we could get all girly about it in the comments. It is kind of interesting because it's one of the first geek things I've seen geared towards women, and acknowledges them as part of this trend. I just wish it reflected our tastes a little better, and wasn't plasted with hearts!
Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards
Filed under: Awards », Images »
Austin was celebrating film this week before the SXSW crowds even arrived. On Thursday night, Austin Film Society held its ninth annual Texas Film Hall of Fame awards gala at Austin Studios, honoring Texans and "honorary Texans" in the film industry. It's a fundraising event for filmmaker grants and educational programs, and attire ranges from the glitziest cocktail dresses to blue jeans and cowboy boots. Thomas Haden Church emceed the ceremony, revealing surprising depths of bizarre-yet-enjoyable humor. Really, I think someone should consider him to host the Oscars next year, although I don't know what his singing and dancing talents might be.
Thirteen and Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, shown above, received the Ann Richards award for someone in film who "who breaks barriers and forges new creative paths." Her award was presented by Brendan Fraser. The Star of Texas award for an exceptional film made in Texas went to Rushmore, which was filmed in Houst -- Luke Wilson accepted the award. Linda Gray, who nearly goosed Thomas Haden Church onstage, inducted her Dallas co-star Larry Hagman into the Hall of Fame. Keith Carradine inducted Powers Boothe. Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater shared a tribute to Texas playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote, a Hall of Famer who died earlier this year. And Dennis Quaid presented the Tom Mix Honorary Texan award to his The Alamo co-star Billy Bob Thornton, who explained to us how he was more of a real Texan than an honorary one, anyway.
We've got photos of the event's honorees in the gallery below (as well as a few other familiar-looking attendees); check 'em out.
Caan, Macht, Stormare, and Taylor Sign Up for Internet Porn
Filed under: Comedy », Casting »
If you think back to the warmer days of summer, you might remember that Jessica posted about an upcoming Internet porn flick called Middle Men. Set to be a comedy, the film was said to follow some normal dude who ends up in the center of that biz we call adult entertainment during the early days of Internet porn (mid-90s, I guess?).And now we have our men of porn. Variety reports that James Caan, Gabriel Macht, Peter Stormare, and Rachael Taylor have signed on for the film, which will star Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi -- all in yet-to-be-disclosed parts. The film is also sounding a wee bit different these days. Yes, it's still about some regular guy -- a "straight-and-narrow businessman who builds the first online billing company dealing exclusively with adult entertainment." But then there's a bit of an insane twist. He finds "himseld in the middle of a whirlwind filled with starlets, conmen, Russian mobsters, federal agents, and international terrorists."
Well, this is nothing like I expected -- dudes spending late nights on Stile Project's old cam pages while girls contort themselves while basking in the glow of their monitors. Maybe writers George Gallo (who will direct) and Andy Weiss were hanging out with Guy Ritchie. How terrorists, conmen, and Russian mobsters all get involved is anyone's guess, but it's kind of hard not to be intrigued with that cast.
Review: Henry Poole Is Here
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », Cinematical Indie »
It's too bad that more movies don't have the courage to explore faith and spirituality in a direct way; studios are usually too worried about appealing to all religions -- and all pocketbooks -- to be very specific about the subject. The other reason is that it's difficult for Hollywood movies to wrap up their neat, bow-tie happy endings with everything resolved, since the idea of faith is based on lack of proof, lack of finality. One of my favorite movies is Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc, which uses an unconventional, off-kilter visual scheme to document some exciting, endlessly fascinating arguments: which side is God on and what does He really want with us? The new Henry Poole Is Here bucks the trend with the appearance of a "miracle" in the life of its ordinary, everyday character. Does it raise any interesting, life-changing questions? Sadly, no. The film is too bored and lackadaisical with its subject to change much of anything. It's too uninspired to be inspirational.
Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) is a man with "movie disease." This means that he's going to die, and he'll have absolutely no symptoms until he does. Sometimes "movie disease" comes with a cough, but not this time. Sometimes "movie disease" has a name, like "brain cloud," but not this time. In preparation for the dark day, Henry buys a house in his old neighborhood, loads up on booze, doughnuts and pizza and waits. Meanwhile, his nosy neighbor Esperanza (Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza, from Babel) brings him tamales and pokes around his backyard. (Her late boyfriend used to live in the same house.) She notices that a badly done stucco job has produced a water stain, and that the water stain looks a bit like a familiar guy with a beard. The picture even produces a drop of blood.
Henry Poole's Trailer is Here
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Trailers and Clips »
Henry Poole Is Here Trailer
When Pearl Jam's video for "Jeremy" came out, I think I watched it a billion times -- one, because it was damn good, and two, because I was young enough to crush on the cute, doomed, floppy-haired star. Now Mark Pellington, who directed the video, is bringing us the Luke Wilson-starring Henry Poole is Here, and you can check out the trailer above.
Not surprisingly, there is great music, but I'm not so sure on this whole premise -- it's too "Jesus on toast" for me. Nevertheless, Wilson stars as Poole, a guy who finds out he has 6 months to live, retreats from his life, and sets on a course to die in suburbia with junk food and booze. But then his neighbor notices a heavenly face on his house's stucco. Miracles ensue, love with Radha Mitchell grows, and Henry finds a purpose in life.
Now the question becomes: Will Henry Poole find his own miracle, or will he end up like Jeremy?
The film hits theaters July 25.
When Pearl Jam's video for "Jeremy" came out, I think I watched it a billion times -- one, because it was damn good, and two, because I was young enough to crush on the cute, doomed, floppy-haired star. Now Mark Pellington, who directed the video, is bringing us the Luke Wilson-starring Henry Poole is Here, and you can check out the trailer above.
Not surprisingly, there is great music, but I'm not so sure on this whole premise -- it's too "Jesus on toast" for me. Nevertheless, Wilson stars as Poole, a guy who finds out he has 6 months to live, retreats from his life, and sets on a course to die in suburbia with junk food and booze. But then his neighbor notices a heavenly face on his house's stucco. Miracles ensue, love with Radha Mitchell grows, and Henry finds a purpose in life.
Now the question becomes: Will Henry Poole find his own miracle, or will he end up like Jeremy?
The film hits theaters July 25.
Luke Wilson Gets 'Tenure'
Filed under: Comedy », Casting »
Sometimes I really wonder about Luke Wilson. He'll do a lot of great films, and mix them with a lot of schlock, many of which don't fall under the paycheck defense. Really -- is there any reason, whatsoever, for him to co-star in Blonde Ambition? He's lucky that he's so good in the good stuff, and hopefully his next project will be just that.Wiping off the blonde idiocy, Variety reports that Wilson has signed on to star in Blowtorch Entertainment's new college comedy -- Tenure. Mike Million makes his feature writing and directorial debut with the project, which has Wilson playing a "beleaguered college professor who competes for tenure with an impressive new female colleague." The female shoes haven't been filled yet, but David Koechner has signed on to play "Wilson's anthropology prof sidekick."
This is part of Blowtorch's initiative to put out "low-budget, youth-oriented movies," so I think it's safe to presume that this will have a lot of young humor in it. This isn't your stodgy university comedy. Production begins next month in Philly.
Jessica Simpson Movie Tops Ukraine Box Office
Filed under: Comedy », Foreign Language », Box Office »
I could have stolen the more dubious headline from Fark.com, but I'd rather just acknowledge that site's ever-hilarious subbys. Plus, I wanted to get straight to the point. The Ukrainians love Jessica Simpson! Either that or they love Luke Wilson, Penelope Ann Miller or Andy Dick. All of these people star in the movie Blonde Ambition, which opened this past weekend in the Eastern European nation and shockingly claimed the #1 spot at the box office. With a gross of $253,008, it actually beat out also-opener Definitely, Maybe and has already out-done the Ukraine releases of Atonement, which has only made $237,481 in 5 weeks, and Alvin and the Chipmunks, which has brought in $235,158 in 9 weeks. People magazine got a quote from Box Office Mojo editor-in-chief Conor Bresnan regarding the news: ""The former Soviet nations have a sweet tooth for straight-up comedies. When these comedies have big name celebrities like Jessica Simpson's, that's all that's needed to sell the movie. Russian and Ukrainian audiences have an even bigger urge for escapism than Americans. So, films like Blonde Ambition will gross more than No Country for Old Men."Hey, he's right! I can't find any listing for No Country for Old Men grosses in the Ukraine, but Russia and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) do actually like Blonde Ambition a teeny bit better.. The Coen Bros. movie only took in $286,387 in its first weekend while Blonde Ambition grossed $302,531 during its opening. All of this is pretty amazing, considering the Simpson movie barely even received a theatrical release in the States, and even then it only had a per-screen average of $48. I won't go as far as imply that the Ukraine is weak -- as a Fark.com commenter did by linking to this Seinfeld clip -- but it can't be denied that they've got an interesting taste in movies.
Sundance Deals: 'Choke' and 'Henry Poole' Sell
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Deals », Sundance », Distribution », Fox Searchlight », Cinematical Indie »
The logjam may have been broken at Sundance. Just as I finished writing something about the slow selling conditions over the usually busy first weekend, Variety broke the news that Choke and Henry Poole is Here have both been sold.Fox Searchlight acquired Choke in a deal valued at $5 million, for which the distributor receives "world rights, less several international territories," according to Variety. Erik Davis told us the film's world premiere on Monday night was a hot ticket and that it received shouts and cheers at the conclusion of the screening.
As a fan of the source material -- the novel comes from Fight Club author Chuck Palahnuik -- Erik said he had some issues with it. His review explains: "First-time director Clark Gregg (who also penned the script) decided to turn this adaptation into a straight-up laugher that really works ... some of the time." Erik was mighty impressed with Sam Rockwell's performance as a scheming sexual addict, though he wonders if "casual moviegoers and non-Palahniuk fanboys" will be care. Fox Searchlight now has five million reasons to make them care.
In the other big deal of the moment, Overture Films acquired US rights to comedy/drama Henry Poole is Here for about $3.5 million. Mark Pellington directed; he previously made Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies, and a whole bunch of music videos. Henry Poole stars Luke Wilson as a man who believes that he is dying, so he leaves his fiancee and family business to spend his final days alone -- but no one will leave him alone! To repeat an old joke, Overture Films now has three and a half million reasons to hope moviegoers will not, in fact, leave him alone.
New Casting Rumors for Big Screen 'Dallas' Update
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Casting », RumorMonger », 20th Century Fox », Remakes and Sequels »
It's funny, for a movie that probably only ten people are looking forward to seeing in the theater, there's certainly a lot of gossip surrounding it. Cinema Blend is reporting that their sources are telling them James Brolin, Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Diane Ladd, and Julie Bentz are in negotiations to star in the update of the classic 80's soap, Dallas. Brolin would star as Jock Ewing, Ladd would play Ms. Ellie, and Kelly would take over from Victoria Principal in the part of Pamela Ewing.Last April, word spread that the production had stalled, and I think most of us thought this would be the last anyone would hear about the film. But, this August, Scott brought us the news that the film was not only back on track, but this time it would be made as a comedy with Betty Thomas at the helm. There was was no more talk of Jennifer Lopez and Luke Wilson, but John Travolta is supposedly still on board to play the big kahuna himself; J.R. Ewing.
If Blend's sources can be trusted, then the film has gone back to being a drama and the comedy script has been tossed -- yeesh, can't these people make up their minds? But I would be inclined to believe that the film will be a comedy after all since Thomas has signed on to direct. Dallas is expected to go into production this summer, that is if they can ever make up their minds about what movie they are going to make. Oh, and there's also a little strike that might happen too.
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