robert redford Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Could Robert Redford Have Picked a Better Cast?
Filed under: Drama », Casting »
Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln pic will definitely have a run for its money if it ever gets made. Robert Redford is cooking up one hell of a roster for his drama The Conspirator, which focuses on Mary Surratt's involvement with the assassination. Now Variety reports that the filmmaker has lined up the rest of his cast. First, as we already learned: Robin Wright Penn will play Mary Surratt, "the only female charged in the conspiracy to kill" Lincoln. She was said to have given John Wilkes Booth and David Herold weapons. James McAvoy, meanwhile, will play Frederick Aiken, the war hero and man tapped to defend her in court. And now:Tom Wilkinson -- Reverdy Johnson, a Surratt sympathizer and mentor to Allen, who was the former attorney general and U.S. senator.
Evan Rachel Wood -- Anna Surratt, daughter of Mary. She later had to fight for her mother's remains.
Kevin Kline -- Edwin Stanton, Lincoln's War Secretary who took charge of the crime scene after the assassination. He was very involved in the entire proceeding, including concocting a rather unique and painful hood for the accomplices while on trial.
Alexis Bledel -- Sarah Weston, the young Aiken's wife.
Justin Long -- "a role" ... The trade outlined everyone's role but his. Will this be, I dare say, Lincoln? (hah.)
Frankly, Kline would be enough to sell me, but I'm impressed both by the fresh story picked (and all the aspects Redford has to choose from), and the heaps of talent laid on it -- a mixture of names we'd expect and some surprises as well. Could this be a big twist for Long, perchance?
Our Favorite Montages: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Filed under: Classics », Comedy », 20th Century Fox », Western », Trailers and Clips »
You learn something new about your movie tastes when you're writing about them every single day. I'm realizing that most of my favorite montages don't come from the 1980s, but are historical recreations of one kind or another. (Even now, there's one hovering in my bookmarks because I can't decide whether it's a montage or a credits report. You'll see it eventually, I'm sure.) Today's montage is from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and has to be one of the most unusual because it's done entirely through still sepia photographs. It's a wonderful sequence, and the photos of Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross would look at home in your western history museum. For a bunch of photos, it feels incredibly animated by the endless fun Butch and Sundance are having, clearly enjoying the fact that they're wanted men who can go unnoticed in a crowd as they party their way to Bolivia. Try looking at it through the lens of our celebrity drenched culture, because it really seems to hint at a future when Butch and Sundance would have been as obsessively photographed as Brangelina. The clothes might be outdated and the color might be sepia, but any one of these shots would look at home on Just Jared or Perez Hilton.
The best thing about this sequence is that it was created out of accident and necessity. Director George Roy Hill assumed that when it came time to film the New York sequences, he'd be able to use the sets from Hello, Dolly! as it was filming right next door. But 20th Century Fox denied them permission as they wanted to keep the sets a secret. So Hill just photographed the actors posing on set, and spliced them together with hundreds of historical photos. The result was much more interesting than just having them wander around a sound stage, don't you think?
Steven Spielberg Promises He Will Elect Lincoln
Filed under: Drama », Celebrities and Controversy », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Dreamworks », Steven Spielberg », War »
I didn't read a single story relaying Robert Redford's The Conspirator casting that didn't mention Steven Spielberg's long delayed Lincoln biopic. Apparently, Variety and Spielberg didn't either, because the director came out to assure everyone that the Civil War was still on.As Spielberg and history buffs know, he's been trying to get a biopic off the ground for years, with Liam Neeson tapped to play the president. Neeson has supposedly spent years researching the part with every book he can get his hands on. It seemed close to happening last spring, but stalled due to budget and location problems. (That should put filmmaking into perspective a little bit. If Spielberg can't get a film financed, who can?) He's now focusing his energy on his reimagining of Harvey while Tony Kushner revises the Lincoln script.
But Redford's Lincoln-themed film doesn't daunt Spielberg, as well it shouldn't. It's not really a Lincoln film, as it deals with the aftermath of his assassination. That's a topic in and of itself, which is exactly how the director is shrugging off any hints of competition. "We are very happy that Redford will be doing this Lincoln movie. It is completely different from what our DreamWorks Lincoln movie will be, and we believe that it will add to the commercial potential of our film. Lincoln as a subject is inexhaustible." Just don't make us (or Neeson) wait too much longer, Mr. Spielberg. Please?
James McAvoy and Robin Wright Penn Are Robert Redford's Conspirators
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Casting », Newsstand », War »
At least one Civil War / Abraham Lincoln themed film is racing out of the starting gate. a few weeks after it was announced that Robert Redford would be directing The Conspirator, he has his lead actor and actress. According to Variety, James McAvoy and Robin Wright Penn are heading to the courtroom to answer for Mr. Lincoln's assassination.Penn will be playing the role of Mary Surratt, the lone woman to be part of John Wilkes Booth's conspiracy, and the only woman to be arrested. The Surratts were all Confederate sympathizers, and while her son confessed to being actively involved in plotting Lincoln's assassination, he denied his mother had been. Nevertheless, Mary was tried, convincted, and executed. Mary Surratt is the first woman to have been executed by the U.S. government and it's probably worth noting that while she was described as "a handsome woman," she doesn't resemble Ms. Wright-Penn.
The history makes McAvoy's part a little thankless, as he will be playing Frederick Aiken, Surratt's lawyer. Variety calls him "an idealistic young war hero" though his historical record is actually pretty sketchy. Defending Surratt was his first major case (and since he only lived 13 years longer, he can't have enjoyed many of them). Variety notes that he "reluctantly defends" Surratt, and then comes to believe in her innocence. I imagine the movie will use his real defense speech (which you can read here) which is probably one of the few concrete things Mr. Aiken left behind. The Conspirator begins shooting next month, and should be an interesting period piece. I don't know if it's a replacement for Spielberg's Lincoln biopic but as few know this particular story, maybe it'll encourage a rush of interest in the Civil War.
What? Another Lincoln Pic is in the Works! With Redford Directing?
Filed under: Drama », Casting », Deals », RumorMonger », Scripts », Politics »
I've already ranted about my desire to see Steven Spielberg's Lincoln passion project not die. But while that version of Honest Abe isn't going anywhere, another one is. However, this one is all about the assassination. The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Biz Blog reports that Robert Redford is gearing up to direct The Conspirator -- penned by James Solomon.But this isn't a Booth tale. The film will detail the story of Mary Surratt -- a boardinghouse owner in DC and Confederate sympathizer said to have conspired to kill President Lincoln by giving John Wilkes Booth and David Herold (his accomplice) weapons after the assassination at Ford's Theater. She was later arrested, sentenced to death, and became the first woman executed by the US federal government. Her son was also zeroed in on for his involvement, but while brought to trial, he was never convicted. (Just to add another familial twist -- she was the first cousin, once removed, of F. Scott Fitzgerald.)
On it's own, this should make for a good feature, and it's nice to see an angle and person not usually brought to the big screen. On the other, it's a shame that we can get an assassination biopic in the works, but not one on the man's life and accomplishments. But maybe things will change with Redford? Right now the cast is being assembled, and James McAvoy is said to be in line for one of the leads.
Cinematical Seven: Favorite Con Men (and Ladies)
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Romance », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Steven Spielberg », Cinematical Seven »
There's a caveat or two with which I submit this list of our favorite con artists on film, to correspond with tomorrow's NY/LA bow of The Brothers Bloom (our review from Toronto is here; our interview with director Rian Johnson, there).
One: I have not seen the following -- David Mamet's House of Games, David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner, and
Two: I've seen but don't fully recollect either The Grifters or Nine Queens enough to feel comfortable including them as if I had (I also missed the English-language remake of the latter, Criminal, though I've been told that's for the best). If I were a slier man, then maybe I could fittingly deceive the lot of you, but I'm not, so I won't.
While I don't doubt that the characters in those films would be worthy of a slot on our list, there are still at least seven other con (wo)men in the movies worth shining the spotlight on, and I do hope that you do think that may make do when all's said and done.
Live from SFIFF: Evenings with Robert Redford and the World's Angriest Scotsman
Filed under: Comedy », IFC », Celebrities and Controversy », San Francisco International Film Festival », Summer Movies »
I tend to be skeptical of anything pitched as "an Evening with..." someone, because I don't generally melt from simply being in the presence of someone famous or talented -- they've got to, you know, do something. But when the San Francisco International Film Festival announced "An Evening with Robert Redford," they had a trump card: a brand new print of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, one of my favorite films that I had nonetheless never seen on the big screen. That seemed like a fair trade: you give me Butch Cassidy and I'll sit through the clip reel and onstage interview. Deal.
It was pretty painless, actually. The interviewer, the San Francisco Chronicle's Philip Bronstein, manages to just be mildly sycophantic, and Redford was thoughtful and articulate -- as charming as you'd expect. The audience questions were typically gushy and occasionally inappropriate (someone tried to pitch a documentary project, prompting a groan from the entire room -- who really thinks that a 1500-person Q&A is a good venue to talk business with Robert Redford?) but the man answered (or deflected) them with the aplomb of someone who has done this a gazillion times. At one point, we learned that Redford has not seen Butch Cassidy in the 40 years since its release, which is kind of remarkable when you think about it.
Will 'State of Play' Spark Interest in a Dying Profession?
Filed under: Drama », Thrillers », Universal », Critical Thought »
Thirty years ago, a political crisis and two movie stars inspired thousands of young people to pursue a career in journalism. Now that the profession may be dying, is it foolish to hope that an economic crisis and three movie stars could revive interest?
Opening tomorrow, Kevin Macdonald's State of Play stars Russell Crowe as a world-weary reporter investigating a murder in which his old friend, politician Ben Affleck, may have been involved. Rachel McAdams also stars as an up-and-coming blogger. Obviously, that's a very different kind of movie than Alan Pakula's All the President's Men, which starred Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post reporters who helped uncover the full extent of the Watergate conspiracy in the 1970s. In the wake of that movie, The Atlantic commented: "Today's generation of young Americans is flocking to journalism schools in unprecedented numbers ... the extraordinary popularity of 'communications' has been attributed to 'the Woodstein Phenomenon,' the effect of the Woodward and Bernstein feat of exposing and unseating the Nixon gang in the White House."
Ever since, there has been no shortage of qualified journalists; the problem is that jobs for journalists are drying up faster than a water hole in the Sahara. Without getting into a discussion of why the newspaper and magazine industries are dying, my questions are:
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Will anyone look beyond the murder thriller trappings of State of Play?
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Will it cause anyone to think about why good, solid investigative journalism is still so important -- in part, to hold elected officials, government workers, and corporate executives accountable for their actions?
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Will anyone be prompted to come up with viable solutions to sustain and support a valuable profession before it's gone forever?
Travolta Cassidy and the Sundance Cruise?
Filed under: Casting », RumorMonger », Tom Cruise », Western »
I seriously love the Daily Express. These guys know how to scheme up a good rumor. This time around, they're going for the ultimate buddy remake. Forget the likes of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Who'd want those guys when you can have Tom Cruise and John Travolta? According to the gossip rag, Cruise wants to remake the 1969 classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and star in it along with Travolta. Not only that, but Cruise reportedly got the blessing of Paul Newman before he passed on. According to the Express' source, this remake has "been a pet project of his [Cruise] that has been on the back-burner for years. But now he's ready to go, and will most likely happily eschew the enormous salary that he normally commands."
Now I'd love to see Travolta and Cruise as buddies on the big screen. I think they could have a lot of fun with each other. But a Western? One of the most iconic Westerns with two of Hollywood's most notable and critically loved male stars? No thanks. If this is, in any way, true, Newman must have been high on pain meds. And if it comes to fruition, I think we're all going to want to be high on them.
Would you like Travolta Cassidy and the Sundance Cruise?
San Francisco Film Festival Lineup Announced
Filed under: Fandom », Exhibition », San Francisco International Film Festival »
The 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival, announced its massive 150-film lineup this week. The world's oldest film festival (Federico Fellini showed his film La Strada here when he was just a pup will open with Peter Bratt's La Mission -- starring brother Benjamin Bratt -- and closes with Alexis dos Santos' Unmade Beds, with Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer -- with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel -- as a Centerpiece. Francis Ford Coppola will receive the festival's directing award (previously awarded to Mike Leigh, Spike Lee and Werner Herzog) and will hopefully screen a trailer and some bits and pieces from his upcoming Tetro. Robert Redford will be honored with the Peter J. Owens award (for actors whose work exemplifies brilliance, independence and integrity). James Toback will receive the Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting, and the festival will screen his new documentary Tyson. Other guests include Evan Rachel Wood and Elijah Wood (no relation).
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Discuss: The Movies That Haunt You
