There’s a lot of minor news breaking today and falling in between the cushions of Slashfilm’s buttery soft couch. I’ve decided to reach in and present the tasty morsels for your enjoyment. Don’t like some of ‘em? Well, your dog doesn’t discriminate and if it does, surprise, it’s a kitty.
October’s Max Payne video adaptation continues to build a curious borderline-honor roll of a cast, with Chris O’Donnell (Robin) climbing out of the Where Are They Now File to star alongside Mark Wahlberg (title role), the foxy Mila Kunis (uh, assassin love interest), Beau friggin’ Bridges (mentor) and Donal Logue (not playing Jimmy the Cab Driver). O’Donnell will play nipple-free “executive Jason Colvin.” Exciting, innit? Now, if only the film was rated R. (EW)
Javier Bardem, the biggest star in born again director Francis Ford Coppola’s follow-up to Youth Without Youth, Tetro, has either dropped out or been replaced on a huge creative whim. Coppola will recast the role of Bardem’s mentor to Vincent Gallo’s title character with Carmen Maura, whom you may have caught in Volver. Hmmm, Coppola could have certainly used the awareness of the Oscar winner. Too bad. (HR) As we all do when a job falls through, Bardem is said to be considering a role as a respected wine critic in a film entitled The First Emperor starring naughty monkeys Helen Mirren and Hugh Grant. (DH)
The horror! Another fresh face from The O.C. has washed ashore on Crystal Lake. Amanda Rhigetti, an 8, is close to signing on as the female lead in Platinum Dunes’ Friday the 13th. How about a cameo by Adam Brody’s head? (Variety)
Latino Review sum up Sam Raimi’s script to his upcoming Drag Me to Hell with three words: Predictable as hell. Slashfilm previously summed up the entire movie even more succinctly with: Justin Long. Obviously we’re too smart to add “as hell” to that. However, that was before we caught Long’s performance in The Sasquatch Gang (now on DVD), which was maddeningly chuckle-inducing. “Predictable as hell” it is, then.
Billy Crudup is that guy you call when your film is looking good. He’ll play J. Edgar Hoover (kinky) in Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, which stars Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and the Dorf and has as much chance as sucking as UNC losing the Final Four. Jinx? Hardly. [Variety]
Where’s my sickly neighbor from 1988’s inhaler? Joshua Jackson says he will not be playing Fletch in the remake. Chevy Chase’s is one of my favorite Chevy Chase films. I say cast Michael Cera and let Jason Lee choke on a furball. [MTV]
The new film from Heathers writer/legend Daniel Waters opens tomorrow in select theaters. It’s called Sex and Death 101. Here’s an interview with Waters that’s so chockfull of amazingly pretentious, pseudo-intellectual name dropping it makes us realize how rarely we come across screenwriter interviews like this anymore. More Waters, please.
Hard hitter producer Graham King (The Departed, Blood Diamond) and Warner Bros. hope to bring the Hugo Award-winning sci-fi series Hyperion Cantos to life on screen via a script by relative newcomer Trevor Sands. I’m not familiar with author Dan Simmons’s works, but the plot is said to be set on a planet called Hyperion that has lucid blue skies, “electricity-spewing trees,” and a mysterious region called the Time Tombs, where time travel evidently goes down amongst artifacts. And a very pissed off monster guards them. Ooh la la. Sands will combine the first two novels, Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion in his script. An original, brainy sci-fi film? All for it. Any fans, please sounds off in the comments below. (HR)
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Going to grind that Justin Long bit into the ground, eh? Jesus. The guy was in some bad films and some bad commercials. So has Robert De Niro. Get over it.
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I think you’re way off on the Waters interview.
It’s refreshing to have someone who writes movies know something about movies and watch a lot of movies.
And if you watch the extras on the Heathers dvd, you’ll see that these references are very natural and if you know them, help explain his points quite thoroughly in a limited amount of space. He goes to the movie theatre a couple hundred times a year. When he talks, he assumes that people are interested in movies.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
The only thing remotely interesting to me: Are you saying Max Payne is pg-13? Who’s the bonehead behind that? Yeesh.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
@Hunter
Do you every have anything nice to say? We like the tidbits of news you post…just not your hate-tank of commentary that seems to always follow it.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
“Chevy Chase’s is one of my favorite Chevy Chase films.”
That makes sense.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:19 pm
@ Anonymous #2
An Anonymous who says “we”? Stop freaking me out. Just so all of you cloaked warriors don’t attack me, here you go…
Okay, Joshua Jackson would be the best Fletch ever!
I hope Max Payne is PG-13!
Justin Long….check plus!
Daniel Waters (wait, I already really like Daniel Waters)…
Billy Crudup, even better!
O.C. meets Jason (wait, I have no problem with this)
Javier Bardem + Francis Ford Coppola holding hands on a swing!
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
jesus, that waters interview is awful.
seriously:
1. “It’s Neil Simon adapting Georges Bataille,” Waters says.
2. “It’s Roman Polanski directing Seinfeld.”
3. “what he describes as his “Buñuel-meets-’Caddyshack’ sensibility.”
4. which he calls “Jean Renoir meets ‘Meatballs.’
i’ve got one for him: it’s like my foot meets your ass. really, just shut up. heathers was great and all, but considering it was the one positive note on an otherwise completely dismal resume, does he even get to brag about it or does he instead have make up for ‘the adventures of ford fairlaine’. i’m going with the latter.
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:02 pm
The Hyperion Cantos would make a great film. The books have a depth and breath that would probably make a better mini series than a movie. There’s certainly enough to mine from the books, which BTW are a very good read.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:55 am
Davidson would have creamed UNC if we had made it past Kansas, just so you know.
April 4th, 2008 at 4:17 am
The Hyperion novels are great literate science fiction. His new novel, “The Terror”, is a great horror/historical novel which will also someday be butchered by hollywood. A fate that appears to be headed for the small dead planet of Hyperion.
April 4th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Re the Daniel Waters interview, I’m guessing the LA Times reporter was searching for stuff that was “Diablo Cody-esque,” i.e. pretentiously screenwriterish. Waters is actually a down-to-earth guy and we had fun interviewing him 2 months ago…
http://www.boxofficepsychics.com/2008/02/10/interview-with-sex-and-death-101-director-daniel-waters/
April 4th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
@ CMAC
Yeah, I’ve never met him but I’ve heard that as well. Waters was just riffing for the interview and playing up his image. Thought it was funny.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
@ Nathaniel
Yeah right!
April 5th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Hyperion was optioned by Microsoft several years ago (not sure for what…game?) but the author’s web site http://www.dansimmons.com now gives a vague account of the movie deal. Hyperion (1st novel) seamlessly weaved the thrilling background stories of six protagonists (detective, military, religion, philosophy, poetry, diplomacy/adventure). Fall of Hyperion (2nd novel) paints a fascinating picture of the mankind spread across galaxies and the fragile link that unites them. There are stylistic differences between the two novels so it is a tough screenplay assignment. I think the readers of /film will enjoy reading (or watching, when it is out) the Hyperion story.