parental guidance suggested Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• Watch out Dakota Fanning -- there's a new Dakota out there on the horizon who's bound to give the old Dakota a run for her money. Variety reports that 12-year-old newcomer Dakota Blue Richards (much cooler name if I may say so myself) has been chosen among 10,000 girls in the U.K for the lead role in The Golden Compass. Pic, which will be directed by Chris Weitz (Yes, this time he's really directing it) is an adaptation of the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy. With a budget of $150 million, Compass will become New Line's most expensive since The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
• Hey, remember that Frankie Muniz sex comedy that had Martha foaming at the mouth in anticipation of its release? Yeah, well Dimension Films has snatched up the rights to Parental Guidance Suggested, suggesting that people should actually pay money to go see this thing. Labeled a "sketch comedy feature," pic boasts an ensemble cast that includes a cast full of folks that have the potential to be funny if it weren't for the moronic films they choose to appear in. Yes, I'm talking about you Jamie Kennedy. 
• Well, it appears Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way has taken a small lead in the race to land a Timothy Leary-related film in theaters. Appian has gone ahead and tapped playwright Craig Lucas and Leary archivist Michael Horowitz to develop a biopic based on the famous 1960s icon as a potential starring vehicle for the Titanic star. Now, you may recall that Appian is not alone in their pursuit to create a film about the LSD advocate. In fact, Miramax has already gone ahead and purchased the rights to Robert Greenfield's book, Timothy Leary: A Biography, with similar intentions. And, while all this is going on, director Darren Aronofsky is said to be quietly developing his own Leary project as well. Since there's a good chance we won't see three Leary films hit theaters at the same time, I'm wondering who will nab the top spot? Not for nothing, but these other guys don't stand a chance against, well, the King of the world. My money is on DiCaprio.

Ok, seriously: Who are the people who think it's a good idea to repeatedly pair up Frankie Muniz with movies involving sex? Step forward and explain yourselves immediately. First there was Parental Guidance Suggested, an awful-sounding "sketch comedy feature" about boys and their hi-larious sex-capades -- in Frankie's case, for example, he plays "a teen who loses his virginity to his girlfriend ... only to find she wants to take things much further, including farm animals and midgets." Yeah, I know -- I can't wait either.

And now, as if that wasn't much, much more than enough, The Hollywood Reporter revealed this morning that Muniz is set to star in My Sexiest Year, a comedy-drama (or, as the execs like to say, "dramedy") about "a young man [yes, that's Freddie] and his never-to-be-forgotten romantic encounter with a top international model." (In case you're wondering, they've hired Amber Valletta to really stretch her acting muscles by playing said supermodel.)

Ok, first of all, yawn. Can we call a moratorium on the "homely teenage boy is deflowered by impossibly hot older (usually foreign) woman" movies, please? Second, what is it about Frankie Muniz that gets him hired for these roles? Malcolm in the Middle fans, help me understand the guy's irresistible appeal to people casting movies about teen sex. Seriously, I want to know.

First of all, could someone please explain to me what a "sketch comedy feature" is? Is that the way that the trades just started to describe really loosely-plotted movies like the Scary Movie series? Or is it something new entirely? I'm very confused. Whatever it is, Parental Guidance Suggested is one, and it sounds so, so bad that you wonder about the sanity of everyone involved, particularly those who are paying to get it made. Crazy, the lot of them.

According the The Hollywood Reporter, the movie will star Frankie Muniz (He's really making great non-Malcolm in the Middle choices, huh? How 'bout that Agent Cody Banks?) as "a teen who loses his virginity to his girlfriend ... only to find she wants to take things much further, including farm animals and midgets." Whew. Sorry, had to take a break there, because I was laughing so hard there were tears coming out of my eyes. But wait -- it gets better! Also in the film are Matthew Lillard (who, to my great shame, I actually like), Jamie Kennedy and Andy Milonakis, whose character "falls in love with an electric vagina." Honestly. There are no words.