north country Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Theron Gets New Gig and New Co-Stars
Filed under: Action », Drama », Casting », Newsstand »
Looks like super-in-demand (and super-hot) Oscar winner Charlize Theron has her next gig lined up after she finishes with Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah and Alan Parker's The Ice at the Bottom of the World. According to Variety (via Coming Soon) Theron's gig after those films will be The Battle in Seattle which is being written and directed by Theron fiance, actor and freshmen helmer Stuart Townsend.Theron's new co-stars in The Battle in Seattle, an ensemble political action drama set against the backdrop of the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting (and riots) in Seattle, are Ray Liotta, Martin Henderson of The Ring and the recent Flyboys, Andre' Benjamin from the recent Idlewild and Woddy Harrelson, who also appeared with Theron in North Country. Also according to Variety, Townsend will be trying to take a somewhat unique approach with his direction and will tell the story of the film from several different interlocking perspectives -- including those of the protesters, politicians, police and some of the delegates.
An interesting idea, and one that may serve the project well. However, not completely original, having been done very well many times in films such as Pulp Fiction, Crash , the upcoming Bobby, directed by Emilio Estevez and most any Robert Altman movie you can think of. Still, the premise sounds interesting and Theron has a talent for picking good, relevant material like Monster and North Country, so this might amount to something in the end. Plus, did I mention that Theron is super-hot? Let's not forget that.
The Battle in Seattle is expected to begin filming in November. No other casting news or a release date as of yet.
(See earlier news on The Battle in Seattle here and here.)
WB's Sparrow
Filed under: Action », Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Deals », Universal », Warner Brothers », RumorMonger », Newsstand », Brad Pitt »
The rights to The
Sparrow, a sci-fi novel by Mary Doria Russell, were recently allowed to lapse by Universal, and Warner Brothers
snatched them up. The goal at Warner's is to produce the film through Industry Entertainment and Brad Pitt's own Plan B Entertainment, and it's hoped that Pitt, who has
a long-standing interest in the project, will star. Though it wasn't particularly well-reviewed, Russell's book, which tells the story of contact with alien civilizations in the near future, has proved quite popular in the nearly 10 years since its release. Set in both 2016 and 2060 (that's not the sci-fi part, it's just a split narrative), The Sparrow tells the story of human contact with the planet Rakhat, the existence of which is first noticed when one of Jodie Foster's big dishes picks up singing in space. "While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own." Though "the aliens never come across as more than variations of primitive earthly cultures," all sorts of conflict and interaction evidently occurs, and the reviewers at Amazon are wild about the thing. The Jesuit mission is led by a messianic figure named Father Emilio Sandoz, who is presumably the character Pitt would play, if his scheduled worked out, and the script (currently being drafted by North Country scribe Michael Seitzman) met with his approval.
Cinematical Oscar Predictions: The communist vote
Filed under: Awards », Oscar Watch »
As long as we're expanding our definition of "expert" this Oscar season, I thought we might as well explore
the global-political vote. Herewith then, some words of wisdom from Nikolai Blogostroika, a v odka-soaked, Eastern Bloc
-bred character I made up to make jokes about Capitalism and Communism.Nikolai, what are you thinking in the Best Actor race?
Why do the gay cowboys not show a little gaeity? Back in USSR, we have no cows to be gay about. Truman Capote had eccentric way of dress and spoke with lisp. In Russia, we have Dostoevsky; Capote limp milquetoast sh*t in comparison. But Phillip Seymour Hoffman big strong man, very convincing as fruit.
Interesting. What about Best Actress?
Reese Witherspoon has a head, lumpy like a potato. It is quite appetizing. Many nights in Former Soviet Union, I sit up shivering, longing for such a warm "Ring of Fire".
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