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Archive for the ‘cinematical’ Category
Wednesday, May 9th, 2007
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, DIY/Filmmaking, Home Entertainment  The Professional kid-turned-Amidala has been quite busy lately. Natalie Portman has a bunch of films making their way to us, from the multi-angle love story, Paris, je t'aime to a blonde stint in My Blueberry Nights. Plus, she has other post-production films that should come later this year from time as Anne Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl to a part in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. As if that wasn't enough, she's also been in talks to direct an adaptation of Amos Oz's A Tale of Love and Darkness. So, why does Natalie want to blog her whole life? According to Valleywag, the actress is making the rounds in Silicon Valley to find funding for her new project. Apparently, she's met up with playboy-turned-investor George Zachary of Charles River Ventures. The scoop comes from one of his colleagues, who asked on Twitter: "How big of an audience do you think Natalie Portman lifecasting could attract?" Now sure, she doesn't have any more projects finalized for her future, but is that enough of a reason to reveal her life to the Internet? I see Portman as a pretty smart woman, but this doesn't make any sense. What public figure would put their whole lives on the Internet? I can only assume that she's taking a break from film if this project goes forward, as a continual video feed of her life would interfere with any movie set. Furthermore, isn't this just asking for increased paparazzi trouble, stalking and the like? Sure, from a voyeur standpoint it is all sorts of tasty, but why, why, why? The only thing I can come up with is that she has a stalkee fetish. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted in Celebrity Gossip, cinematical, Movie News | No Comments »
Monday, May 7th, 2007
Filed under: Fandom, Exhibition, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Home Entertainment  Start building that MySpace fanbase people, because Madison Road Entertainment and Madonna's Maverick label are preparing to a launch a new internet-based talent competition called Big Shot (think along the lines of a new version of Star Search, except it appears the goal here is to use your online popularity to promote other properties). The show, which will run for 13 weeks and host 91 webisodes, will be dedicated to an assortment of talents which include singing, modeling, stand-up comedy, filmmaking and acting. Each person will be able to upload their profile, as well as a 30-second video showcasing their particular talent, which will then be voted on by a number of people with names like ILoveRyanSeacrest4Eva.
Since most internet surfers have the attention span of a mouse (myself included), there will be a new winner every day. That person will then be flown out to Hollywood and given a chance to audition for a "talent rainmaker" -- basically, that's just a snazzy way of saying you'll be meeting with some agent's assistant. At that time, you'll be given the chance to impress someone live and in person (which, right away, could prove difficult for those who feel more comfortable acting like an ass in the comfort of their own home) and, if your series of cartwheels are enough to get someone to say, "Sure, we can use him/her as an extra on our new FX TV show," then you could be on your way to red carpet stardom. Subsequently, the folks in charge get to promote their other products (like, for example, the Maverick-produced FX drama The Riches) and you get to say that, well, you had more MySpace friends than the dude who sang The National Anthem upside down. Fear not all you aspiring internet celebrities (yes, I'm talking to you lonelygirl90210), you still have time to prepare; Big Shot won't premiere until September 10. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Monday, May 7th, 2007
Filed under: Action & Adventure, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels  The soccer player turned swashbuckler, Keira Knightley, is getting run down. While Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End gets ready to knock us away in theaters, it looks like its star is ready to knock away not only any chance for sequels, but her part in the whole industry. In an interview with the Guardian, which was released yesterday, Keira says that the film series has run its course: "It's definitely time. I think everyone's glad to move on to different things." Johnny Depp has previously shared an interest in more, so there's a chance the series can go on, but I'm not sure that Disney could convince Knightley to go back. While the actress seemed full-steam-ahead before the film, now she seems weary, edgy and cautious -- mainly due to the stories claiming she has an eating disorder after some pictures of her in a bikini hit newsstands. Just last week, she hit back at the reports, describing her grueling cardio for Pirates as the reason for her increased skinniness, and griped that naturally thin women are becoming "scapegoats for promoting mental illness." Weary from the personal attacks, she said of her career: "I think I just have to move away or give it up altogether." While she doesn't sound as gung-ho on leaving a week later, her anxiety is still there. In the Guardian interview, a discussion about her cooking and dinner parties quickly turned bitter when she was asked about her stylist, Rachel Zoe, who also works with Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan. While I enjoy a number of her roles, although I've stayed far away from Domino, I'm wondering if this girl should at least take up a long break, if not give up the biz altogether. One good round in the tabloids and the actress is as tense as can be. While she describes herself as a drama queen, interviewer Chrissy Iley also mentions that Knightley had once described herself as insecure. It might just be a good idea for her to take a break after her mother's film, The Best Time of Our Lives, and try to find her best time. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Monday, May 7th, 2007
Filed under: Action & Adventure, Casting, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels  I'm not sure what a great-looking blonde is doing out in the middle of the Myanmar jungles, but apparently Sylvester Stallone needs a tad more tasty eye candy for his Rambo sequel. Variety tells us that Julie Benz has signed on to star as the female lead in John Rambo, however no further role description was given. Seeing as the plot revolves around a group of missionary aid workers who go missing, one has to assume Benz will play "the hot aid worker." For those who never managed to catch the 12 episodes of Dexter in which Benz starred as Rita Bennett, you might know her as the third jaw-dropping hottie in the 1999 flick Jawbreaker. Apart from that, the girl has done a ton of TV work (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI, Roswell, Taken), as well as landed much-coveted leading roles in The Midget Stays in the Picture (as A-List Actress) and Shrek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth.
Due out next May, John Rambo also stars Sam Elliott, Matthew Marsden and Paul Schulze. Not long ago, Stallone tapped a retired rebel soldier from the jungles of eastern Myanmar to play a brutal Burmese soldier in the pic. I'm thinking he'll be the guy you want Rambo to lay the smackdown on. Sai Mawng was chosen out of 300 applicants who turned out for the part; the casting notice asked for an unlikeable 32-40 military man. In the pic, Rambo is pulled out of retirement and recruited by a group of Christan human rights missionaries to help protect them against pirates (and no, not the Johnny Depp-type pirates). Also, in case you're itching for more Rambo, the first pics of Stallone on set have recently appeared online. As I said before, John Rambo (which was previously known as Pearl of the Cobra, until Stallone realized that people might confuse the situation and think this film was instead a sequel to Cobra -- and, not for nothing, but that would've been wicked cool) is due in theaters in May 2008. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Friday, May 4th, 2007
Filed under: Drama, Deals, DIY/Filmmaking  A man makes a few blockbuster films full of grandoise scenes of rings and hobbits, or a giant ape climbing the Empire State building, and his past is forgotten. However, as much as it seems strange for Peter Jackson to have adapted Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, and subsequently shop it around, it's old hat for him. In 1994, there was his highly-regarded feature, Heavenly Creatures. The film was based upon the true story of two young girls who murdered the one's mother in an attempt to stay together. It's a pretty highly-remembered true-crime story which is probably further fueled by the fact that one of the girls was none other than prolific writer, Anne Perry. So, Jackson's been shopping around this script, which instead tackles a young girl as the victim, but there haven't been any takers. This could, perchance, be a result of the high price that he's attached to it -- $65 million plus producing and directing fees for Jackson. Or, could it be the script itself? New York magazine got their hands on the script and just gave it an interesting review. While they say that it starts off spot on, with the same initial line from the book, it fails in its accuracy. Now, I don't mean that it is inaccurate, but that the magazine says the screenplay is so accurate that it fails to find the magic: "So much of the novel's action is stuffed into the screenplay, in fact, that little of it registers as important -- to the family left behind, or to Susie." While I can't comment on the script, the magazine is spot-on in its overall evaluation of the project. Lovely Bones is a dark and intriguing story that screams indie treatment, but it's not really the stuff blockbusters are made of. Can Bones swim with the pressure of a huge budget, or is it doomed to sink before it even gets its first stroke in? Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Friday, May 4th, 2007
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand  Though we're only a few short weeks away from the debut of the new Coen Bros. pic, No Country for Old Men, at the Cannes Film Festival, all the talk of late has surrounded the casting of their next project, Burn After Reading. Following the news that George Clooney, Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt had signed on to star, comes word from The Hollywood Reporter that John Malkovich is in talks to star as Ozzie Cox, a CIA agent who loses the very important computer disk that holds his memoir. This will mark Malkovich's first-ever appearance in a Coen Bros. flick; personally, I feel this collaboration is long overdo.
With shooting to begin this August, plot details have been kept under wraps. However, word has it that McDormand will play Malkovich's estranged wife, and the person who steals the disk before accidentally leaving it at the gym. That's where Pitt's character (a personal trainer) comes into play; he attempts to use the disk to blackmail Cox. Meanwhile, Clooney will play a hitman hired by the CIA to "clean up" the entire situation. Based on this premise, it sounds like another fabulous Coen Bros. dark comedy, and the cast is as good as they come. No word yet on whether Coen favs Steve Buscemi and Billy Bob Thornton will make an appearance, but there's still plenty of time to announce more names as we creep closer to the pic's start date. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Thursday, May 3rd, 2007
Filed under: Drama, Celebrities and Controversy  Last year, La Lohan controversy was flying all around as she ticked off co-stars and filmmakers alike. Then, she went to rehab and it looked as though the news was finally coming to a close. However, in the last few months, she's been dropping starring roles. Sure, with a clear and sober mind she might have questioned her choices if she was starring in some terrible movies, but instead, she dropped out of the Dylan Thomas romance and Women of No Importance. Are these roles things she shouldn't have said yes to? I'm not following her logic. Whatever the case, Lindsay Lohan wants to be taken seriously. While the first step after getting sober should probably be keeping her commitments, she thinks it will be her role in I Know Who Killed Me. The role has her getting kidnapped and tortured, before being rescued and sent home with her saying that she's someone else. According to Hollywood.com, Lohan says: "I don't think there has been a role for an actress like this movie was for me in so long. At first I was like, 'I can't do this, I'm getting my legs cut off. I don't want to look like that in scenes; I want to look decent.' But that was just me being young and stupid." How about Charlize Theron? Or my personal favorite, Ellen Burstyn? But I should give her a break. If we know one thing about Lohan, it is that her logic is not necessarily our earth logic. When she continues about her role, I just want to shake her: "And I have my first sex scene in it, which I always said I wouldn't do. I wanted to do this movie so people can see that I'm a f**king actress." Oh, Lindsay. If you think partaking in a sex scene is what you need to do to be seen as an actress... But we're distracting her from her work (no, it's not the partying and controversy) and keeping her from her Academy path: "I want to get a nomination. I want to win an Oscar. I want to be known for more than, like, going out... I bust my ass when I'm filming and when I have time off, yeah, I like to go out and dance." Well, Lindsay, you used to be my favorite teen actress many moons ago, so I'd love to see you return to it. But girl, great acting is more than getting terrorized on film or partaking in sex scenes. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Casting, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, MGM, Celebrities and Controversy  Even though I hated his Miami Vice movie, I still consider myself a fan of Michael Mann's work, and I continue to look forward to whatever he delivers next. And it looks like his next will be something to really, really look forward to. Variety reports that Mann will direct a film noir about a Hollywood murder investigation and that Leonardo DiCaprio is expected to play the detective. The project, which was packaged by CAA, is currently being shopped around to the studios with a script written by John Logan. The film will take place in the 1930s on the MGM lot and will apparently feature cameos from people like Judy Garland and Bugsy Siegel (people playing them, anyway). The plot will likely follow the detective as he is hired by the studio to clean up a scandal involving a starlet who may or may not have murdered her husband. The only other part of the script that has been revealed is that there will be a major shootout that takes place in the Trocadero nightclub on Sunset Boulevard. Despite the fact that no studio is yet confirmed (New Line has been revealed to have bid, but too low), the film will start shooting in February. There can never be too many period noirs set in Hollywood, which had a lot of interesting scandals during the golden era, but after the failure of The Black Dahlia some studios may be hesitant to think there's a chance for another L.A. Confidential. Still, with Mann, DiCaprio and Logan teamed up -- they all worked together on The Aviator, which Mann produced -- it will be difficult to lose with this film. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007
Filed under: Drama, Celebrities and Controversy, Exhibition  If someone told you that people were getting sick while at a film, what would you imagine would cause it? Me, I immediately think about gore, especially in the wake of all those realistic, cringe-worthy sorts of scenes we get these days. But no, it's nothing that disturbing. Since Babel has been released in Japan on April 28, at least 15 people have complained that the film has made them ill. These complaints have inspired Gaga Communications to release national news ads warning of the film's propensity to make viewers ill. It was not the subject matter that made them queasy, but the lights. In one scene, Rinko Kikuchi, whose performance in the film garnered her an Oscar nomination, visits a nightclub. For about one minute, strobe lights flash on the screen -- this is what is making some Japanese viewers queasy. Part of the warning describes: "This feature presentation includes some highly stimulating effects and some customers have complained of feeling ill." Talk about vague. Really, this is no different than what happens at amusement parks. Any ride that has strobe and beating light effects gets that little warning beforehand describing as much. Wouldn't it just be easier to have a strobe warning for any films that have those lights in them? "Highly stimulating effects" can mean anything, and doesn't really describe the why. Heck, I would consider the words more descriptive of a hot sex scene than some flashy strobes. If any of you have read the warning in its entirety, I'd love to know if they ever get specific, or just continue to be vague. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Tuesday, May 1st, 2007
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Romance, The Weinstein Co., Movie Marketing, Cinematical Indie  The new film from Wong Kar Wai is bound to disappoint some of the filmmaker's die-hard fans. Aside from the fact that it is Wong's first film in English and employs a number of Hollywood stars, the factors against My Blueberry Nights include the following: it wasn't shot by Wong's longtime collaborator Christopher Doyle; it doesn't feature at least a cameo from Tony Leung; it stars a young singer in her acting debut; and it has received the touch of death by being distributed by The Weinstein Co. Of course, there are multiple reasons to hope that it isn't a disappointment, let alone a failure, and we've just received a new one: the film's poster would look great on a fan's wall. Never mind the beautiful design of the poster, which miraculously makes orange a color that I don't hate looking at. The main attraction is the prominence of Rachel Weisz, who is being capitalized on for her recent Oscar win. Six years after being left out of the main poster for Enemy at the Gates, the actress has apparently become a bigger attraction than Jude Law, her costar in that film. Though Law has a higher billing in the cast list at the bottom, he is given a much smaller role in visually representing the film. Meanwhile, Norah Jones, who is actually Blueberry's star, is barely seen in the lower left, where her image is also somewhat blurred. Rounding out the featured cast is Natalie Portman, seen driving a car. Actors Ed Harris, Tim Roth and David Strathairn are also represented, but only by name. This poster may not be the final one-sheet for the film's release, especially since it features the words 'coming soon' rather than a release date (which is so far still unknown). It also seems to be a Canadian poster, because it includes the logo for Christal Films, which is distributing the film up north. We could very well see a totally different design from the Weinsteins. My Blueberry Nights will premiere in France in two weeks when it opens the Cannes Film Festival. Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted in cinematical, Movie Marketing | No Comments »
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