robert luketic Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I've got an idea, let's just try and take every campy film out there, especially the ones only loved for their irresistible badness, and morph them into serious cinema. Who needs a wise-cracking Ash and his boomstick when you can have a stoic and bland hero growl whilst massacring baddies? Why have fuzzy killer tomatoes attack when they can be real tomatoes with an honest blood lust and fangs? Why have car races where you get points for hitting passerby when you can have grown men racing around for their lives and taking it seriously?

That last one, we've already gotten in the form of Death Race, and now The Hollywood Reporter reports that Joe Gazzam has been tapped to write the new adaptation of Barbarella, and: "The new take on the iconic character will not be campy, though it will keep the sexuality; there will be seductions, but the focus will be on the adventure." Yes, this means that Robert Rodriguez is completely out, and now Robert Luketic (Monster-in-Law, The Ugly Truth, 21) is taking over the directorial responsibilities. This is no joke.

Somewhere in Hollywood I believe there's a conference room that is used for one purpose: to completely deconstruct When Harry Met Sally (1989). The walls are covered with script pages, movie stills, charts, diagrams, lists of actors, character traits, keywords, jokes and many other things. Several times a year, some men in suits enter this room. These men can see and understand all the elements that made the movie successful. They understand that Meg Ryan's Sally was neurotic and tightly wound, and they understand that Billy Crystal's Harry was slightly crude (lovably so) and free-willed. They understand that Sally's fake orgasm in the restaurant was a huge crowd-pleaser.

However, they don't understand the imprecise factors, things like human interaction, and romance and chemistry, things that happen all by themselves during a lucky production and can't be planned or replicated. But they nevertheless cobble together a few rough ideas and greenlight the next romantic comedy. The absolutely awful The Ugly Truth is the latest result. Katherine Heigl plays the new neurotic, tightly wound heroine, Abby Richter, who is the producer of a "Today Show"-type morning television news show. Because of her overly-planned, risk-free programming, the show's ratings are faltering. One night she stumbles upon a cable access, love advice show called "The Ugly Truth" and immediately clashes with its slightly crude (lovably so) and free-willed host, Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler).

Robert Rodriguez remaking a campy 60s sci-fi flick is one thing, but Robert Luketic? Robert Luketic, the man who perpetrated Monster-in-Law? The director of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!? That's the guy they want to redo Roger Vadim's 1968 Barbarella? Well, that's the rumor reported by Starpulse, who claim that "the project has been saved" by Luketic.

As Monika Bartyzel recapped last month, Robert Rodriguez wanted a big budget to fulfill his big dreams, and Universal balked at the budget. German financiers offered him $70 million but wanted the production in Europe, and Rodriguez balked at spending all that time away from his children. So no Rodriguez, no Rose McGowan -- the perfect choice for the character -- no modern take on Barbarella, the role in which Jane Fonda thrilled teenage boys everywhere with her slinky sexiness.

What would another Robert do with the project? The Australian Luketic famously debuted as a director with Legally Blonde, a frothy comedy that boosted the fortunes of Reese Witherspoon, and more recently made the flashy 21, which grossed more than $150 million worldwide. Here's an out-of-left-field thought: what if he cast Kate Bosworth as the erotic, leather-clad heroine? The two first worked together in Tad Hamilton before reuniting for 21. While we wait for the rumor to be confirmed or denied, who would you cast as Barbarella?

There has been a lot of buzz over the path of Katherine Heigl's career -- much of which is steeped in rumors about her desire for good material. Whether or not some of the particulars are true, like rumors that she wants to exit Grey's Anatomy due to crappy storylines, I think it's safe to say that she definitely portrays herself as a woman with a plan. A woman with a crappy rom-com plan thus far, but a plan nonetheless. I just can't believe that it includes Ashton Kutcher.

Variety reports that Heigl and Kutcher will star in Lionsgate's new thriller called Five Killers. Following director Robert Luketic to the feature, straight from The Ugly Truth, Heigl will play a woman who meets the man of her dreams (Kutcher) while on vacation and gets hitched. Unfortunately, "married bliss is turned upside down when they discover that their neighbors may be assassins hired to kill them."

Unlike many, I wasn't angered by many of her public comments. I understood her point of view over that whole Knocked Up kerfuffle, and I thought it she was quite honest and rational with her Emmy withdrawal last year. But her big screen choices make any complaints about mediocre storylines, or determination about her craft, a complete joke. Will any of you actually go see this?

A movie about card counting? It could so easily be yawn-worthy, but then again, there have been some sweet card-playing flicks in the past, so anything is possible. 21, based on those MIT peeps who made news for their speedy, mental card counting, is coming out this month (we'll have an early review from SXSW), and Cinema Blend has 8 clips up to whet your appetite -- ones that make things a bit more interesting than the earlier trailer.

Granted, this isn't any sort of documentary on these guys, but a Hollywoodized drama. And, as Jessica stated last month, a bit white-washed. Nevertheless, it's got the lights of Sin City, and that irresistible money allure. In the clips, you can check out the suit-cost scene that works much better outside of the trailer, lots of practicing, the inevitable fissures of cockiness and working for someone outside of the law, and some introductions, although unfortunately, the sound doesn't seem to be working on that clip (numbered 8, but really 7).

It's flashy, it's Hollywood, and it's directed by the guy behind Tad Hamilton and Legally Blonde, so you decide. Still, even with the fanciness, I kinda like seeing smart number crunchers on screen. We see so many idiots these days, ones that make you wonder if they even know how to tie their shoes, that it's nice to see someone who can do math in their head.

After being a bit unhappy with some of the portrayals in Knocked Up, what does Katherine Heigl do? She signs on to star in a new romcom called The Ugly Truth, which Christopher Campbell told you about in November. The flick will focus on a "romantically challenged" morning show producer who deals with a chauvinistic correspondent trying to teach her how to find love. There's nothing like saying Knocked Up is sexist and then signing up for a movie where she gets taught love by a chauvinist.

Now Variety reports that Gerard Butler will be the guy to "guide" her. He's going to play a man called Mike Alexander, who is the "host of a TV segment titled 'The Ugly Truth.'" Heigl's character is "reluctantly embroiled by her chauvinistic correspondent (Butler) in a series of outrageous tests to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love." Well, I guess he was just done with all that uber thoughtfulness from P.S. I Love You.

To give a little credit to the project -- it's teaming director Robert Luketic with writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith -- they're the team behind Legally Blonde, which was a surprisingly fun film that cut through a lot of stereotypes. But still. A film where a man who finds women, or whose behavior indicates that he finds them, to be inferior teaches a smart, successful, and attractive woman how to find love is condescendingly passe.

If, however, the description is painting a falsely poor light on the film, I sure hope they correct it soon.

It seems like just a few months ago we were enjoying the sights, the sounds, the smells and the cinema of South By Southwest 2007, but guess what? Now that it's January, the festival's only about nine weeks away! Awesome! So today we caught some slightly early news on what SXSW is cooking up for this March, and I must say I'm pretty impressed with what they snagged for their opening night film.

And that film is: Robert Luketic's 21, which is based on the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. (You may remember Mr. Luketic from flicks like Legally Blonde, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, and Monster-in-Law.) Adapted by Ben Mezrich's book by screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb, 21 stars Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess. (Check out the trailer right here.)

And if that world premiere isn't cool enough, festival chief Matt Dentler has also divulged the following titles for SXSW '08:

At the Death House Door (Steve James & Peter Gilbert) "A sobering and powerful story of the wrongful execution of Carlos DeLuna and the Death House Chaplain, Pastor Carroll Pickett, who spent the last day of DeLuna's life with him."

Dreams with Sharp Teeth (Erik Nelson) "A documentary portrait of acclaimed author Harlan Ellison, as he looks back on his fabled and influential career as one of the world's top science fiction writers."

Flawless (Michael Radford) "In 1960s London, a talented but overlooked diamond executive (Demi Moore) is convinced to participate in a jewelry heist when a veteran janitor (Michael Caine) hatches a plan."

Run Fatboy Run (David Schwimmer) "An out-of-shape divorced father (Simon Pegg) makes one last attempt to win back the respect of his son, his ex-wife (Thandie Newton), and the community around him. All he has to do is finish his first marathon."

Wild Blue Yonder (Celia Maysles) "Celia Maysles had no idea her father and his brother Albert were pioneers of verite documentary filmmaking. Determined to uncover the secrets surrounding her background, Celia sets out on a quest to rediscover her father by using his own artistic process."

Expect a few more flashy surprises before the full SXSW slate is announced on February 5! Until then, feel free to browse through the SXSW website and decide if THIS is the year you're finally going to take my advice and attend the dang festival. (You do know it's a movie AND music fest, right? Interactive, too, and I do believe I've mentioned the indigenous BBQ more than once.)

At this point, I'm starting to think that it's contractually obligated that if either Kevin Spacey or Kate Bosworth appears in a film, the other automatically gets a part. OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, but you can't deny that the two seem to really enjoy working together. Yahoo Movies is now hosting the trailer for their latest collaboration, 21, the real-life story of six M.I.T students who develop a foolproof plan to win at Black Jack. The film is based on the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich (and I guess I don't have to explain why they chose to go with the new title 21 -- I doubt Sony wanted their audiences getting the film confused with a C-grade Queen Latifah comedy).

The story centers on a group of M.I.T math students who along with their 'mentor' come up with a new system of "counting cards" -- if you haven't read the book and don't mind a little math in your light reading then I would definitely recommend it. Although I wouldn't recommend trying out their system, unless you don't mind the idea of getting roughed up by pit bosses.

The film was directed by Robert Luketic, who isn't exactly a household name, but is probably best known as the director of Legally Blonde. The book was adapted for the screen by Allan Loeb (Things We Lost in the Fire) and Peter Steinfeld (Analyze That). Joining Spacey and Bosworth are Laurence Fishburne in what looks like the role of a casino boss (better known as "the Heavy" in the flick) and Jim Sturgess as the newest member of the gang. 21 is set for release on March 28th, 2008.

Earlier this year, in Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl played a television personality for E! But her character started out in a behind-the-camera role, despite the fact that she's a knock-out beauty. Now, according to Variety, the actress has been cast in a similar part. She'll play an off-screen producer of a morning show, who also happens to be "romantically challenged," in the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, in which she must deal with a "chauvinistic" correspondent attempting to teach her how to find love. Here's where the plot description makes little sense: "His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result." Unexpected? I think we all can easily predict and expect the result as being that Heigl's character falls for the correspondent. Anyone who has ever seen a screwball romantic comedy can see that one coming a mile away. When is Hollywood going to just own up to the fact that they use genre conventions and that we in the audience enjoy genre conventions (and have enjoyed them for a century now) and leave out the "unexpected" crap? Who do they think they're kidding?

The sad thing is that this not only sounds like another genre picture; it actually sounds more like the plot of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. But fans of that movie may not be interested in The Ugly Truth, which is being made by the collaborative team behind Legally Blonde. The script was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kristen Smith, who last gave us She's the Man (which I'm still not ashamed to admit I enjoyed), and it will be directed by Robert Luketic, whose last movie was Monster-in-Law (which I'm still not ashamed to admit I would never ever watch). Filming is set to begin mid-April. All we need now is a hot, irresistible, but believably chauvinistic actor to play the obvious love interest.

Some of today's casting tidbits I managed to throw together while watching Breaking Vegas on The History Channel (which immediately depressed me because it made me wish I were smarter):

• Samuel L. Jackson wants to play a bad guy -- either that, or the neighbor from hell. The Snakes on a Plane actor has joined Kerry Washington in Lakeview Terrace, a thriller written by David Loughery in which James Lessiter and Will Smith will produce. Story revolves around a black LAPD officer (Jackson) who isn't too fond of the interracial couple (with Washington as the female half) that just moved in next door. In fact, he's determined to run them off his block in any way he sees fit. Something tells me these folks wouldn't make for great contestants on TLC's Trading Spaces.
• Speaking of The History Channel's Breaking Vegas, Columbia Pictures is currently rounding up a bunch of cool cats to star in the big screen version of the very real-life story explored in Ben Mezrich's Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. Laurence Fishburne is in negotiations to co-star in 21, while Liza Lapira and Josh Gad have joined Jim Sturgess and Masi Oka in the pic, to be directed by Robert Luketic. Fishburne would play the Vegas security chief placed in charge of tracking down the group of M.I.T. students who, through mastering the art of card counting, raked in tons and tons of cash.
• Rachael Taylor (See No Evil, Transformers) is looking to hop on the horror remake bandwagon -- she's signed on to star in Shutter, a remake of the 2004 Thai film. She'll be playing one half of a recently married couple who are spending their honeymoon in Tokyo when -- holy crap -- images of ghosts begin showing up in all their photos. Hey, it's better than drunken fat guys and middle fingers, right?