miranda richardson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I can only imagine what's coming out of Vince Vaughn's mouth as he big-wheels it around Santa's crib. I don't think I've ever seen the man that giddy before. Tis' the season, I suppose. Warner Bros. has provided Cinematical with another one-sheet for Fred Claus (click on the poster for a larger image), a film that's sure to make your naughty and nice list once it arrives in theaters on November 9 (which reminds me -- should I be shopping for Christmas presents yet?). He's already crashed weddings, so it's only fitting that Vince Vaughn crashes the North Pole -- and in the film, he plays Santa's (Paul Giamatti) bitter, annoying older brother who's forced to shack up with the jolly fat man and turn his life into a living hell (only it's cold, because they're up north). But that's what family's for, right? Santa may be 'money,' but it might not seem that way when bro is all up in his business ... and his big-wheels. David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) directs a cast that also stars Miranda Richardson, Kevin Spacey, Elizabeth Banks, Kathy Bates, Rachel Weisz and Ludacris (as an angry elf). Will Christmas ever be the same again?

Cinematical takes great joy in bringing you the final poster for Richard Kelly's Southland Tales (click on the poster for a larger image) -- mainly because we've been anticipating this film's release for upwards of two years now. And so when the last poster goes public, it means we'll be sitting in a movie theater, watching Kelly's follow-up to the cult hit Donnie Darko, soon enough. And what a poster it is! You know they mean business when The Rock goes by his real name -- and only his real name -- Dwayne Johnson. Also starring in this eclectic cast are -- ready for this -- Seann William Scott, Mandy Moore, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Curtis Armstrong, Cheri Oteri, Justin Timberlake, Jon Lovitz, Bai Ling, Kevin Smith, Miranda Richardson and John Larroquette, among others. If that line-up isn't worthy of your lousy 10 bucks, you have issues I don't want to go near.

Essentially, Southland Tales is an ensemble piece (that mixes sci-fi, comedy, music and drama, if you can believe it) which takes place in a 2008 where Los Angeles is on the verge of political and environmental disaster. Boxer (Johnson), an action star with amnesia, soon finds his life intertwine with the dysfunctional worlds of an adult film star (Gellar) and a cop (Scott) mixed up in a conspiracy. But from what I gather (and knowing Kelly's work), there's a whole lot more going on as well. I mean, just look at that poster -- it definitely gives us a peak peek inside the complexity of the film. Southland Tales will finally make its new and improved debut in theaters on November 9.

Is The Guardian upset that a Canadian is directing a film about Queen Victoria? I don't know, but I find it strange that Jean-Marc Vallée is not mentioned anywhere in Guardian Unlimited's new piece on The Young Victoria, the biopic of the 19th century Monarch being co-produced by Martin Scorsese (he's not British either, but he is named in the article). Anyway, I'm sure he was simply forgotten by accident, but it is important to realize how significant Victoria is to the Canadians (ever hear of Victoria Day?). The piece mostly spotlights screenwriter Julian Fellowes and titular star Emily Blunt. It also lists a cast member we haven't yet heard about: Miranda Richardson, who joins Blunt, Mark Strong and Rupert Friend, who we just recently learned is playing Prince Albert. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Richardson will be playing Victoria's mother, Princess Victoria.

From Fellowes we learn about the focus of the film, which begins shooting next month. And from the description, I'm imagining the mostly brilliant Marie Antoinette with less hair and more tea. Actually, The Young Victoria will begin with the future Queen's repressed childhood, as she is forbidden to do anything or spend time with anyone out of her mother's fears that Victoria might die before taking the crown. Once Victoria does become Queen, though, she kind of breaks loose. Certainly not Marie Antoinette loose, but definitely more free spirited than we typically think of Victoria to have been. Taking place from 1836 to 1840, the film likely climaxes with her marriage to her first cousin, Prince Albert. The article stresses that this wedding was not simply an arranged affair -- so expect plenty of romantic scenes. Just don't get carried away too much by the romance; I wouldn't want you to think about committing incest, too.

If you've always wanted to see a group of ninja elves beat the crap out of Vince Vaughn, you're in luck -- the first theatrical trailer for Fred Claus has just arrived online. And all that fake snow on the ground left me wishing this current humidity attack on NYC would just go away. I type, and I sweat. It's crazy. We recently shared four new teaser posters for Fred Claus (one of which is featured over there to the right), and Jessica wasn't so crazy about the cutesy air-brushed Vince Vaughn vibe to them. Well, the trailer is a tad better. Directed by David Dobkin (The Wedding Crashers), don't expect a slew of raunchy Christmas jokes here. Based on this preview, it looks like they're going right after the kids with a bunch of generic North Pole antics, a slew of midget jokes (half of which were probably already used in Elf) and the story of a family relationship gone sour.

That said, I'm a sucker for Vince Vaughn (even though I feel he continues to play the exact same character in every movie), as well as a sucker for inventive Christmas tales. Just looking at Santa and hearing Paul Giamatti's voice immediately brought a smile to my face. Kevin Spacey also shows up as the business man who's looking to put the kibosh on Christmas (there's always one of those somewhere), Kathy Bates seems to be playing Santa's mom, Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Claus and Elizabeth Banks as the hottie assistant. Hmm, I wonder if she and Fred will eventually wind up together? Oh, and Rachel Weisz is somehow sandwiched in there too, along with everyone's favorite Hollywood whore, Ludacris (don't even get me started on how much I despise that man and his cheesy "Look at me, I'm an awesome actor now" tactics). Bah humbug. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think; Fred Claus will sprinkle Christmas cheer on theaters everywhere beginning November 9.

Having just come off the Tribeca film festival, I should be perfectly attuned to an experimental short film anthology like Paris Je T'Aime, (Paris, I Love You) and some segments of it are definitely enjoyable, but the overall hit-miss ratio is too low to ignore. This, despite a juggernaut talent bench that includes the Coen brothers, Wes Craven, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Alfonso Cuaron, Nick Nolte, Miranda Richardson, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Steve Buscemi, Gus Van Sant and Juliette Binoche. In fact, these are only a few of the notable performers and directors who contribute to the 18 shorts, only a few of which actually intersect with the others. My favorite of the lot is the one that the Times' Stephen Holden declared to be the worst: a snappy little love note to Parisian vampires titled Quartier de la Madeleine. Starring Olga Kurylenko as a classic vampire with opaque, milky eyes who is interrupted in the midst of her work by Elijah Wood, it's a beautifully photographed little love story with lots of blood that seems made of melted pink plastic.

Strangely enough, that's not the short directed by Craven (even though he makes a cameo in it -- how could he not?) Craven's entry is Pere-Lachaise, focusing on a visit to that famous cemetery -- where Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and Jim Morrison are buried -- by a squabbling couple played by Rufus Sewell and Emily Mortimer. Just when Sewell's character has run out of things to say, the ghost of Wilde actually shows up to give him some advice. Like many of the films, however, it feels like a 30-minute short that was cut down to about one-third of that time in order to squeeze it into this crowded phone-booth of a feature format. If you don't pay careful attention, you might actually miss Wilde's appearance and wonder what happened to wrap up the segment. Still, the acting drags it over the finish line. The same can be said for Quartier des Enfants Rouges, starring Gyllenhaal as an American actress shooting a costume drama in Paris and possibly falling for her Parisian dope dealer.

According to Production Weekly, Cillian Murphy (and Cillian Murphy) will be starring in a sci-fi movie called Telepathy. He will be playing identical twins Josef and Viktor Zalenski, who become part of a top-secret experiment to test telepathic communication. It seems the Russian Government thinks that one twin in space and one twin on Earth will be able to talk to each other via the mind. The picture will also star Nathalie Press, Sam Neill and Miranda Richardson and is due to begin shooting this October with Lesley Manning directing from a script written by Stephen Volk.

Okay, so the experiment sounds far-fetched but interesting. It doesn't sound like much of a plot, though. Perhaps it will be like Contact, and stretch a minimal amount of action while providing a lot of discussion about the phenomenon of telepathy. Or maybe there are some other story elements that aren't being given out just yet. A quick look at the resumes of both Manning and Volk shows the team is familiar enough with the supernatural to add something more, although neither of their talents has so far been well-received. Regardless, Murphy is an amazing talent, and after his ability (combined with Rachel McAdams) to actually make Red Eye more entertaining than its script should have allowed, I have confidence that whatever this movie is, it will work.