nativity Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Here are some casting bites for you, courtesy of Variety:

• According to the Tarantino Archives, funnyman Mike Myers (Austin Powers) has signed up for a "small" role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards. He'll join what's shaping up to be the oddest cast of the decade: Brad Pitt, Simon Pegg, Eli Roth, BJ Novak, David Krumholtz and Nastassja Kinski. Bizarre ... but lets see where he goes with it.
  
• Martin Freeman, who you should recognize from the ever-awesome Hot Fuzz, has picked up a starring role opposite Ashley Jensen in Nativity. The Debbie Isitt film focuses on "two rival English schools vying to outdo each other in the annual Christmas play." It sounds like it could be fun, although I'm sure it could be helped or hurt by the likes of Hamlet 2. Unfortunately we have a while to wait and see. IMDb has it tentatively set for a 2010 release.
• Calamity Jane, otherwise known as Robin Weigert when she's not on Deadwood, has signed on to Renee Zellweger's indie film My One and Only. This is that George Hamilton picture based on his memories of the 1950s, when his mom set out to find him a new dad. In the meantime, she has a slew of other movies on the way, including Synecdoche, New York and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.
• Finally, we have an answer to the rumors. In January, Jessica alerted us to rumors that Maggie Grace was taking over Sarah Michelle Gellar's role in the big-screen version of American McGee's Alice. Well, they were half right... Instead of replacing Buffy, Grace is replacing Mischa Barton in Malice in Wonderland. Yes, she will play Alice in Simon Fellows' film, which is finally getting off the ground.
  

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• Damn, talk about a quick turnaround -- that Nativity film already has a teaser trailer online, as well as some behind the scenes footage. Pic, which will tell the story of Mary from a "strong female perspective" is directed by Catherine Hardwicke and stars Whale Riders' Keisha Castle-Hughes. It's not too uncommon for a film to move along this fast, though a speedy production can sometimes hinder its final outcome. Everyone involved wants this flick in theaters in time for Christ's birthday, so only then will we see if this lightning rod is any good.
• I can't stand these little pop-culture phrases that clever writers dream up, only to pollute the environment and drive me crazy. Where's Al Gore's documentary on the words Mimbo and Metrosexual? That's what I want to know. Anyway, Paramount Pictures snatched up the pitch Frenemies from writers Dwayne Stempel and Jennifer Robinson. Frenemies. Yes, that's what it's called. Wanna know what a Frenemy is? I know you do. You're dying for it. Well, the story revolves around two best girlfriends who, for one reason or another, become archenemies. Get it? A Frenemy is a friend who becomes an enemy. What will they come up with next? Just shoot me now.
• Since I'm always looking for reasons to bash Jamie Kennedy, a wonderful little story popped up today that was just too good to ignore. Seems the actor/comedian wants to become a real-life rapper. Oh yeah, and you thought Malibu's Most Wanted was just a joke. Nope, this guy is actually hoping to be the next Eminem -- he even has a record deal with plans to release his first rap album next month. Sorry folks, the only joke present here is the artist himself. Has anyone heard his music? Is it really as bad as I know it is?

UPDATED TO ADD: Yes, I know about Kennedy's TV show, however a lot of people thought it was a joke because, well, the guy does stuff like that. And so, to repeat myself, the only joke present here is the artist himself.

Tuesday's odds and ends:

• Michael Winterbottom's controversial Berlin hit The Road to Guantanamo has been picked up for American distribution by Roadside Attractions, who plan to give the film its US premiere at Tribeca, and have it in theaters this summer. None of that multi-platform release action for this side of the Atlantic, but at least we get to see the thing.

• Did you know that Clint Eastwood has nine kids? And that one of them is an actor named Scott Reeves? Neither did I. Of course, if his Scott Reeves is the one the IMDB (there are actually two, but since one was born in 1966, I'm assuming he wouldn't be able to play a troubled teen), he's been in exactly one movie, so perhaps calling him an "actor" is going a bit far. Whatever his title, Reeves is joining the cast of P.D.R., as is Evan Ross, who will be making his debut in ATL later this month (and has apparently decided that it's a good career move to only appear in movies with three letter titles).

•  Man alive - Catherine Hardwicke's Nativity just gets better and better. In addition to its interesting story and kickass director, the movie's also got a cast with some serious acting chops. Already set to star is Oscar nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes, and Variety reports this morning that Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar-nominated for her supporting work in House of Sand and Fog, has been signed to play Saint Elizabeth (for those of you who are with me in heathen-dom, she's John the Baptist's mom).
  

New Line's Virgin Mary project - entitle Nativity - has come together incredibly quickly: between the purchase of Mike Rich's spec script and the start of production this spring, less than six full months will have passed, and the studio plans to have the movie in theaters by December, not even 12 months after the script was bought. (If writers whose scripts are mired in development hell find out about this, we risk a rash of quiet suicides.) The film, which will be directed by the very unconventional Catherine Hardwicke, will tell Mary's story from a "strong female perspective," detailing her travels with Joseph, and the obstacles they encountered. According to today's Hollywood Reporter, Mary will be played by the world's only 15-year-old with an Oscar nomination under her belt, Whale Rider's Keisha Knight-Pulliam Castle-Hughes.

As I said in an earlier post on this movie, it's shaping up to be a promising project - when they hired Hardwicke, New Line made it clear that they were going to do more than pay lip service to the idea of examining the life of Mary from a new, feminine perspective. That choice was a great sign, as is the choice of Castle-Hughes for the role of Mary, because you know there were at least three execs pushing La Lohan.

As Erik reported a few weeks ago, New Line recently bought the rights to a spec script titled Nativity, which explores the life of Mary prior to Jesus' birth. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the screenplay "follows Mary and Joseph's life...as their love, faith and beliefs are tested." Over the course of their travels form Nazareth to Bethlehem, the couple interact with a slew of biblical figures, including John the Baptist and King Herod.

Having bought the script, New Line immediately turned to finding a director for the project, and they've settled on a rather surprising choice: Catherine Hardwicke. Hardwicke, whose two films to this point have been the raw, controversial Thirteen (which she also wrote), and Lords of Dogtown, a movie about the skateboarding and surfing culture in 1970s Venice, California, is not exactly someone who leaps to mind when you think of the best person to make a movie about the mother of Jesus Christ. According to New Line, though, they want Hardwicke to direct the film because they think she has the ability to give it a "strong female perspective." Good for them - this movie is actually starting to sound really interesting. It's a traditional story, obviously, but it's going to be helmed by a very untraditional director, and the studio seems to be quite willing to defy expectations about how Biblical stories are supposed to be told.

New Line has purchased Mike Rich's spec script, Nativity, with plans to develop the project into Passion dollars.The story is said to revolve around Mary, Joseph and their 100-mile trip to Bethlehem for the birth of that troublemaker, Jesus. Rich claims he came up with the idea after watching Passion of the Christ collect over $600 million worldwide. Okay, what he's actually telling people is that he thought of it after reading about the Nativity in Time and Newsweek. Sure...we'll let him go with that.

While everyone immediately compares this to Mel Gibson's film, thankfully the script was written in English, making it easier for those at New Line to pin-point the dollar signs. In fact, I believe one producer literally snorted them off page 46. The story also attempts to flesh out key characters such as King Herod and John the Baptist's parents, Zachariah and Elizabeth. Since I'm not Catholic, I'm going to assume those were important people. Rich also penned two other feel-good flicks in Finding Forrester and Radio, though neither one came with Jesus' much loved built-in audience.