Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Guy Pearce has joined the Miramax remake of the classic 1973 television movie Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, scripted by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Troy Nixey. Bailee Madison has also signed on to play his daughter. They’ll be joining Katie Holmes, who was cast a couple of months ago. Read More »
Quentin Tarantino Claims Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair DVD Release Is Still Happening
Posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 by David Chen
Was I the only person that was somewhat disappointed when they first found out that Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill epic would be split into two films? Of course, the split certainly helped Miramax recoup their considerable investment in the film, but Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 always felt like two halves of a whole, rather than independent films (probably because they were originally intended to be one). Tarantino apparently felt the same way, and many months ago, he announced the upcoming DVD, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (Amazon link to the unavailable product here), which would reunite the two films into the original, single film that debuted at Cannes. Of course, like many of the projects that Tarantino talked about, as the weeks and months flew by, I started to lose faith that such a project would actually come to pass.
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Miramax has premiered new footage from Adventureland on AICN and MySpace. Greg Mottola’s new film premieres at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival next week, and we can’t wait to see it. If you’ve seen the trailer that was released in November, than you pretty much know what to expect — it’s more of a damedy than a laugh-out-loud comedy (ie more Garden State than Superbad). Some people believe that it has the potential to be next year’s sleeper hit ala Little Miss Sunshine/Juno. Both clips are embedded after the jump.
Actor turned filmmaker Ben Affleck is in talks to direct Arizona for Miramax. The fact-based drama is about the 1976 car bomb death of Don Bolles, a reporter who was investigating the Mob’s infiltration of the Arizona state government. The incident sparked an investigation called The Arizona Project, headed up by the Investigative Reporters and Editors, a group Bolles co-founded.
Variety reports that Miramax has been unsuccessful in striking a deal with the IRE, which means the resulting film would have to be “fact-based account” rather than the subjective story of the people involved (read: more stale).
As much as I want to see Ben Affleck direct again, this story doesn’t sound nearly as interesting as The Town, the big screen adaptation of Chuck Hogan novel The Prince of Thieves which was announced in September. I think that project more appeals to me because it’s another Boston based film, and Affleck clearly knows the area. I really loved what he accomplished with Gone Baby Gone. The Town is a story about a career thief who falls in love with the manager of a bank he robbed. I’m not sure the status of that project, but I’m hoping it hasn’t yet fallen into development heck. Read more about The Town here.
Mike Nichols, David Mamet and Martin Scorsese to Remake Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low
Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Mike Nichols (Closer, Charlie Wilson’s War) will direct a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low.
Based loosely on Evan Hunter’s King’s Ransom, the original 1963 detective thriller that tells the story of an executive named Kingo Gondo, who learns that his son has been kidnapped. He is prepared to pay the ransom amount until he discovers that the kidnappers mistakenly abducted the child of his chauffeur. Gondo must decide between using the money he has saved up for a critical corporate buyout, or to use the cash to save his drivers son.
If the names involved thus far don’t get you excited, then read on. Originally commissioned by Martin Scorsese in 1999, the screenplay is written by David Mamet. The film has yet to begin casting, but it sounds like the ball is now rolling after years of being stalled due to rights issues. Scott Rudin will produce, and its likely that Scorsese will executive produce.
This is one of the few Kurosawa films that I have yet to see. But now it looks like I might have to order the new Criterion and clear out some time to watch it.
First Five Minutes of Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness
Posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Miramax has released the first five minutes of Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness on Yahoo. I have yet to see the film, but I’ve heard mixed things. The cinematography and sound design is said to by the film’s strength, and you will see and hear that in this clip. The opening certainly seems compelling in every way that M Night Shyamalan’s The Happening wasn’t.
Happy-Go-Lucky seems like one of those wonderfull indie films which will bring a smile to your face. Mike Leigh’s (Vera Drake / Secrets & Lies / Topsy-Turvy) latest film stars Sally Hawkins as Poppy, “an irrepressibly free-spirited school teacher who brings an infectious laugh and an unsinkable sense of optimism to every situation she encounters.” But when things start to go wrong in Poppy’s world, her positive state of mind is put to the test.The film has played the film festival circiut and is currently getting a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Total Film calls it “Fresh, Funny, and uplifting” and BBC says that it “establishes Hawkins as a major talent to watch.”
Happy-Go-Lucky hits theaters on October 10th 2008.
Guillermo del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
Posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
If directing a prequel adaptation to one of the biggest movie franchises in the history of film wasn’t enough, Guillermo del Toro has found yet another project to add to his already overfull plate. The Pan’s Labyrinth filmmaker will produce a remake of ABC’s 1973 television movie Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark for Dimension Films. Del Toro is adapting Nigel McKeand’s cult classic teleplay with his Mimic writing partner Matthew Robbins, and comic book artist-writer Troy Nixey (Batman, Matrix, Trout) will make his feature directorial debut.
The story follows a young girl who discovers sinister creatures that live underneath the stairs in her father’s house. The film is in the earliest stages of development, but the plan is to make this a creature feature with a focus on the unique and fantastical creatures from the mind of del Toro. But isn’t that what everyone wants from del Toro now a days? I can only imagine that del Toro’s voice mail is filled with messages from studio executives asking if Guillermo would be interested in making a big budget fantasy film like Pan’s Labyrinth, but in english and without the dark gore…
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards Not Sold to Miramax?
Posted on Monday, July 14th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Over the weekend, numerous sites reported that Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards had been sold to Miramax, the director’s old haunts. But the rumor originated between the cushions of a relatively new source on the scene: Script Girl. Slashfilm patted the rumor with a napkin and decided to go about our day. According to Jeff Wells, a spokesman for Miramax now says it’s BS, there’s no deal. Moreover, The Weinstein Co. was pegged by his source as the sole distributor and producer.
[Wells] said, “Are you sure? I didn’t think TWC had the scratch or the right kind of alliances to produce a film of this scale” and [the spokesperson] said, “All I know is that it isn’t Miramax.”
This is a small item, but considering the anticipation for the project—especially after the script (and QT’s chicken scratch) put a smile on faces all over the industry—we’re interested to see where it ends up. If it’s not parked at Miramax or TWC, as last week’s reports seemingly made clear, these will be new studio waters for QT. We’ve all seen Blind Date, just add him to the mix (Elvis glasses?).
UPDATE: According to the trades, today The Weinstein Co. and Showtime signed a seven-year “theatrical output” deal that includes Inglorious Bastards.
Discuss: If you have any, what are your thoughts on Script Girl? A friend says, “Script Girl is the reason why I want to live on the East Coast.” What’s the best home for Inglorious Bastards?
Mike Judge is ready to return to the director’s chair! You probably know Mike Judge as the creator of Beavis and Butthead, King of The Hill and the popular cult work comedy Office Space. Fox basically buried Judges’ second feature film Idiocracy, which now appears to be cultivating a cult following on DVD/tv.
Judge’s third live-action feature film Extract will explore “what it’s like to be the boss when everything seems to be shifting around you.” Jason Bateman has signed on to star, Judge’s new shingle Ternion Prods. will produce, while Miramax has come aboard to distribute the film in the U.S. Not much else is known, we’ll update you when more information is available.
source: Variety
Uma Thurman Talks New Kill Bill Anime, The Whole Bloody Affair From Quentin Tarantino
Posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
It’s a slow Wednesday in 2008, so that must mean it’s time to grind the rumor mill yet again for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair DVD(s)! Uma Thurman teased MTV with news that Tarantino is currently working on a new anime to be included with the long-planned definitive edition of the director’s legendary magnum opus. Moreover, she says the complimentary anime segment(s) will not focus on her character Beatrix Kiddo aka The Bride, leaving speculation open that the new anime will revolve around Bill.
“Right now he’s putting the two films together with an intermission with an added anime sequence he had already written,” said Thurman. “So additional stories are in there, in animation.” She adds, “his anime stuff is strong.”
Of course, Thurman played it coy and left it at that, but she’s far less prone to spouting coolness to the press for the hell of it, so maybe KB: TWBA is on the way. Personally, I await the day when QT’s Inglorious Bastards, planned for 2010, starts production, but I’m curious to see what type of gluttonous “intermission” he has in store as well. Can you make perfect films more perfect I wonder?
Richard Price’s Lush Life Headed to Big Screen From Producer Scott Rudin
Posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
A writer’s writer, author Richard Price (Clockers, The Wire) just released what is possibly his best reviewed novel yet, Lush Life, and now Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin (No Country For Old Men) will produce the feature film adaptation with Miramax. Price will write the screenplay.
The novel centers around a murder that occurs when a restaurant manager and a bartender walk a drunken friend home on New York’s Lower East Side and are (allegedly) accosted by muggers. Working in his signature genre, the police procedural, Price examines modern life in NYC and how it functions, with New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani recently writing about the novel and its author, “no one writes better dialogue than Richard Price-not Elmore Leonard, not David Mamet, not even David Chase.” High praise indeed.
Previous Price adaptations haven’t connected with his fans and audiences (Spike Lee’s Clockers) or critics (2006’s Freedomland), with Phil Kaufman’s 1979 adaptation The Wanderers being the best and somewhat of a cult classic. Variety reports that Rudin served as a casting director on the latter film, and while Price previously scripted underwhelming Rudin pictures like Shaft and Ransom, Lush Life will be shooting for golden statuettes. Good to see the already great career of a hard-knock writer advance another level.
