the fantastic mr. fox Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Ah, another week, another jumble to the calendar -- specifically, to 20th Century Fox's release slate.

According to Box Office Mojo, the studio has moved The Tooth Fairy back from November 13th to next January (because where else are you going to stick a Dwayne-Johnson-as-hockey-player-as-tooth-fairy outing?), and Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox has moved back a week from 11/6 to 11/13 as their choice contender for the family dollar. This now places it right after Disney and Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol (really, the first week of November?) and just before Warners' Cats & Dogs sequel (really, the second movie of Cats & Dogs?).

I'm not sure how much Johnson's recent Race to Witch Mountain cost, but I can't help but think that he'd like to outperform that film's good-not-great $60-ish million gross, and January could be just the grounds to do that in. (Paul Blart: Mall Cop opened within a week of the proposed new date and has raked in... almost $144 million? Yep, over $140 million.) Mr. Fox, on the other hand, is a mainstream proving ground for the ever-quirky Anderson, and with a voice cast that includes George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, and Anjelica Huston, let's hope it has reason to top the $28 million gross of that last animated adaptation of a Roald Dahl book, 1996's James and the Giant Peach.

But of course, none of that matters, because the real news is that Sandra Bullock's apparent psychological thriller rom-com All About Steve has found itself a home on September 4th. Sure, it's a little early in the awards season to stake a claim, but I'll leave the for-your-consideration campaign in their hands...

Writer-director Wes Anderson is probably most famous for his quirky character studies, but lately you can't help but notice the guy has been branching out. First up was an animated film, and now it's on to any studio's most prized posession: the remake. Variety reports that Anderson has signed with Universal and Imagine Entertainment to write a remake of the 2006 French comedy, Mon meilleur ami (My Best Friend). So far, Anderson is just in charge of the script, but there's already talk he might be eying the project as his next directorial gig.

Patrice Leconte's original film starred Daniel Auteuil as a cantankerous antiques dealer who has the misfortune of overhearing his friends at a dinner party. When he learns the unfortunate truth about what they really think of him, he's forced to acknowledge his unappealing traits. But the humiliation doesn't stop there; our unloved antiquarian then makes a bet with a business partner to produce at least one friend, and of course, he doesn't have any. So instead, he hires an amiable cab driver to pose as his life-long pal.

There has always been a touch of the misanthropic in Anderson's work, so it seems like My Best Friend would be a natural fit. Besides, now that Anderson has finished working on the adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, it's the perfect time to lock him into his next job. So even if the guy doesn't decide to direct, at least we are getting a Wes Anderson script ... and that should count for something, right?

Would you want to see a Wes Anderson-penned film that wasn't also directed by the man himself?

Further ensuring that the band Pulp should have new fans in the future, front man Jarvis Cocker continues to seek younger listeners. This time, in an interview with Time Out Chicago, he claims to have written a few tracks for Wes Anderson's stop-motion-animated film The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is based on the novel by Roald Dahl. He says there are three or four songs and then some music that could become part of the film's score. Additionally, in response to questions regarding his solo track "Disney Time", he notes that writing music for a kid's movie is his chance to "do better" than Disney films, at least in terms of corrupting young minds.

A few years ago, Cocker contributed to the soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and even appeared in the movie as a member of the fictional group The Weird Sisters, performing the songs he composed, "This is the Night", "Do the Hippogriff" and "Magic Works." Pulp has also written songs specifically for movies in the past, including a rejected theme song to the 007 movie Tomorrow Never Dies (both the original version of "Tomorrow Never Dies" and a retitled version called "Tomorrow Never Lies" were later released as a bonus track and a B-Side, respectively). In the interview, he suggests that Quantum of Solace could now use his solo effort "Quantum Theory", to which he'd change the lyrics appropriately.

When QOS arrives in theaters this fall, don't be surprised if Cocker's song isn't heard. As for Fantastic Mr. Fox, we'll have to wait until November 2009 to see if the man's music makes its way to impressionable ears.

[via I Watch Stuff]

There are many iconic pairings of actor and director: DeNiro and Scorsese; Bogart and Huston; Mifune and Kurosawa; Depp and Burton. One of the best recurring collaborations, though, is Bill Murray and Wes Anderson. The comedic actor appears in almost all of Anderson's movies (maybe one day he can be digitally imposed into Bottle Rocket a la Jabba in Star Wars), including The Darjeeling Limited, which opens tomorrow. I haven't seen the new movie yet, but I did read a great piece about Anderson in this week's New York magazine, and I have to say that Murray and Anderson were made for each other. Whether it is true or not that the filmmaker really had to deliver a suitcase with $14,000 in cash from Murray to a guy named Luigi is beside the point; the story just proves the duo have a fun sense of humor that can involve the other at any given time.

That's why it isn't surprising to learn that Murray will be voicing a character in Anderson's stop-motion-animated film, The Fantastic Mr. Fox (and I don't mean because Murray would avail his voice to anything). MTV Movies Blog chatted with Anderson about the film, which is still a few years in the making, and got other confirmations on its cast of voices. Yes, George Clooney is definitely on board as "Mr. Fox", and also Jason Schwartzman is doing a voice, too. There is no mention, however, of Cate Blanchett or Angelica Huston, both of whom are said to be part of the film. It also wasn't revealed which characters Murray and Schwartzman would be doing. The Fantastic Mr. Fox will be Murray and Anderson's fifth movie together (and Schwartzman's fourth with the director, if you count shorts), and will likely be far from the last. The film also reunites Anderson with his Life Aquatic co-writer Noah Baumbach; the script is based on the book by Roald Dahl.

Just when you thought movement on Wes Anderson's planned adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox had grinded to a halt, word has leaped out that casting is now underway with none other than George Clooney and Cate Blanchett in talks to voice the lead characters. This will mark Anderson's first time dabbling with animation, as Mr. Fox will be all stop-motion -- utilizing a lot of the same techniques (as well as the same London location) as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. I'm sorry, but how can you not be excited about this? It's literally impossible!

If you read any books as a kid, there's a good chance The Fantastic Mr. Fox was one of them; Roald Dahl's classic story revolves around a clever fox forced to outwit three moronic farmers who are out to hunt down Mr. Fox and his family. If all the pieces fit into place, Clooney will voice Mr. Fox and Blanchett, his wife. No word yet on the three farmers, but I'd expect some familiar Anderson collaborators (Owen Wilson? Bill Murray? Luke Wilson? Jason Schwartzman?) to pop up somewhere down the line. Currently, Anderson is editing his next film, The Darjeeling Ltd., in New York, and will shift over to Mr. Fox's universe once he's wrapped there. Look for Darjeeling to hit theaters this winter, with Mr. Fox arriving at some point in 2008.

For those of you who are big Wes Anderson fans (myself being one of them), how do you think his quirky sense of humor will translate in an animated world?

Odds and ends from Monday:

• Though Casino Royale isn't due out for another few months, its producers are so sure it's going to be a hit, they've already jump-started the follow-up, currently titled Bond 22. Apparently, Notting Hill director Roger Michell is in negotiations to helm it, what some are saying, is an original idea from producer Michael Wilson. Hey, I have a feeling this old school Bond will be fun to watch. If they remain on that path, I'm all for a few more films -- so long as Hugh Grant doesn't play villain.
• Looks like Ang Lee has found the stars for his follow-up to Brokeback Mountain, a WWII-era spy thriller, Lust, Caution. Tony Leung and newcomer Tang Wei have landed the lead roles in this Chinese-language feature for Focus Features, which is based off the short story written by the late Eileen Chang. If the plot stays true to the short story, it will revolve around a man who attempts to seduce and assassinate a spy working for the Japanese government.
• While some feel his films are annoying and self-serving, I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson's work. I mean, how can you comfortably live your life and not think Rushmore is one of the greatest films, like, ever? Currently, the director is working on the animated The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which his is co-writing (based off the novel by Roald Dahl) and directing. However, Owen Wilson recently told CNN he's going to be working with Anderson on another film set in India. Though he didn't give many details, he did say the story followed three brothers who go on a journey throughout India and it's not a buddy comedy movie. India? Owen Wilson? Wes Anderson? I'm there.