Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Focus Features will open Park Chan-Wook’s new film Thirst on July 31, and so far we’ve had only international trailers through which to check out the film. Now IGN has a red band trailer made specifically for the US, and it’s pretty freakin’ great. Check out the escalating pace of this story about vampires and faith after the jump. Read More »
We have a brief update on the big screen adaptation of the beloved Vertigo comic book series Preacher. Last year Columbia Pictures picked up the rights and hired American Beauty/Road to Perdition director Sam Mendes attached to helm the project. In January it was announced that John August (Go, Big Fish) would be developing the script, but we haven’t heard much since. Mendes tells MTV that the screeplay is “about halfway” written.
“There’s a long way to go yet, but I’m very, very hopeful. I think it could be amazing.”
Fans are hoping that the film might spawn a franchise as the 75 issue series offers enough story for at least three films. But Mendes is focused on making one really good self-contained movie, but admits that “there’s certainly more than enough for one good movie and plenty left over.” Even if this film does go into production, it won’t happen anytime soon. The director tells Collider that he will be doing two more plays in Brooklyn first, and that he won’t be doing his next movie until next year, at earliest.
A few days ago, just after it was announced that the Cannes line up would feature Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void, the official website for the film was opened up. All of the images in this post come from that site. Whle only the third feature by Noe in over a decade, Enter the Void does, however, maintain his record by scoring a hat trick of Cannes premieres for the director.
As well as more images, which I’ve posted after the break, the site also provided this official synopsis, which I have translated to the best of Google’s ability:
Oscar and sister Linda now live in Tokyo. Oscar survives by doing small drug deals while Linda is a stripper in a nightclub. One night during a police raid, Oscar is hit by a bullet. While dying, his spirit, faithful to the promise made to his sister to never give up, refuses to leave the world of the living. Then his mind wanders in the city and his visions become increasingly chaotic and nightmarish. Past, present and future will mix in a hallucinatory maelstrom.
Despite its flaws, Alex Proyas’ Knowing ended up being a fascinating film, with a cool sci-fi bent and some interesting ideas about faith. I was so taken aback by the film and its audacious ending that I held an impromptu /Filmcast, where we all tried to make sense of what the movie was all supposed to mean (and determine whether or not the film was actually any good).
/Filmcast listener Ned wrote in a detailed response to that podcast episode, in which he relates various elements of the film to Biblical prophecy. I don’t think I would make all the connections that he made, but I found his e-mail pretty thought-provoking nonetheless (especially from a Christian standpoint, as faith plays a huge part in the film). I’m republishing the e-mail here in its entirety, with his permission. If you ever have any interesting and in-depth interpretations of recent/classic films that you want to share, always feel free to e-mail me at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Who knows? Maybe it’ll end up on the site one day.
For obvious reasons, everything after the jump and the comments should be considered a SPOILER-FILLED zone. Continue at your own risk.
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New Angels & Demons Video Clip: Hunt Them Down
Posted on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Sony Pictures has released a new video clip from Ron Howard’s adaptation of Angels & Demons on IGN. Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) explains why the Illuminati were driven underground by the Catholic church and have grown to become a huge threat. I do find it odd that Sony would release a clip of Hanks relaying exposition, as that was a common complaint from The Da Vinci Code. Watch the new clip after the jump.
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Sony has released a new Sneak Peek video for Angels & Demons which features the beautiful score by Hans Zimmer. The quick interview introduction is followed by a montage of clips from the film set to Zimmer’s score. If MTV had a channel where they ran music videos for movie score tracks, it would probably look something like this. Watch the video after the jump.
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Angels & Demons Video Clip #1: “Fellas, You Called Me”
Posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Sony Pictures has released a video clip from Ron Howard’s Da Vinci Code prequel Angels & Demons. Robert Langdon, played again by Tom Hanks, attempts to convince the Vatican to let him in to the achieves in order to stop the Illuminati.
Yesterday we reported that the producer Judd Apatow and director/co-writer Harold Ramis had lost their appeal hearing for the biblical comedy Year One, which had been slapped with an R-Rating by the MPAA. I doubted at the time that Columbia Pictures would release the $75+ million comedy with an R-Rating, especially considering the fairly weak online buzz the film has garnered since the debut of the movie’s superbowl commercial.
The filmmakers re-cut the film, resubmitted to the MPAA, and the new cut was given a PG-13 rating “for crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence.” I’m sure the R-Rated cut, or an expanded unrated cut, will eventually end up on DVD/Blu-ray.
I have no inside information about the screenings, but many times with the MPAA, it all comes down to a specific shot/line, or even a few frames of film (as it did with Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri). So I doubt the R-Rated cut and the PG-13 cut are THAT much different. It’s likely the difference of a few seconds of film.
source: THR
The Judd Apatow-produced biblical comedy Year One has been slapped with an R-Rating by the MPAA Classification and Rating Appeals Board for “some sexual content and language.”According to THR , Apatow and director/co-writer Harold Ramis appeared before the appeals board to argue for a PG-13 rating, but were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts. At this point, Sony is forced to accept the rating, but still has the option of re-editing the film for resubmission.
The movie has an estimated budget of $75 million (those big sets and location shoots don’t come cheap) The online buzz for the film has been fairly weak (the superbowl television spot ranked one of the lowest in polls), and an R-Rating could be detrimental to the film’s box office prospects.
Gemma Arterton is Io in Clash of the Titans - And More News From the Empire Awards
Posted on Sunday, March 29th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
Earlier this week Gemma Arterton appeared on GMTV, chatting on the couch with Lorraine Kelly. That’s a screen capture from the meeting above - just for those of you (well, those of us, really) that find Ms. Arterton somewhat easy on the eyes. Besides coming over as really very pleasant, discussing figure-assisting underwear and plugging The Boat that Rocked, Arterton also announced she had two big lead roles scheduled to hit cinemas in 2010. One, she said, was Prince of Persia but the other she wasn’t yet allowed to announce. Just a few days later: all change.
Tonight, at the Empire Awards, Arterton appeared to have received the white flag, green light and crack of the crop telling her she would be A-OK for a reveal and she duly announced her casting in Clash of the Titans. She will be playing to role of Io, a character I don’t think was featured in the Desmond Davis film of 1981, but in the myths the lucky priestess to be seduced by Zeus and then turned into a cow. Later, Io escaped across the Ionian Sea, which begs that old chicken and egg question again, don’t you think?
Matthew Vaughn Reteams With Mark Millar for American Jesus
Posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Earlier today, Mark Millar admitted that he would be moving on from trying to get his Superman pitch off the ground, and now we have some idea why. THR reports that Millar will reteam with his Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn on a live-action big screen adaptation of Millar’s American Jesus comic book. Vaughn is looking to produce the film independently, and they are eyeing a Summer 2009 start.
The comic started as a miniseries titled “Chosen”, and eventually evolved into a trilogy of miniseries retitled “American Jesus”. The second volume, subtitled “The Resurrection”, is due out this Fall. The story follows a twelve-year-old boy who suddenly discovers he’s returned as Jesus Christ. He can turn water into wine, make the crippled walk, and, perhaps, even raise the dead! How will he deal with the destiny to lead the world in a conflict thousands of years in the making? Basically, American Jesus is Millar’s re-telling of The Book of Revelation from the Bible, set in contemporary times.
You can read the first full issue for free on Newsarama. The first volume gets released in a 72-page tradepaperback on April 8th, and is available for preorder on Amazon for $9.99.
Columbia Pictures has released the full theatrical movie trailer for Year One. The film stars Jack Black and Michael Cera, as a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers who are banished from their primitive village, and set off on an epic journey through the ancient world. Directed by National Lampoon’s Vacation and Groundhog Day helmer Harold Ramis, and written by Office scribes Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg (you know, the guys working on the new Ghostbusters script).
I feel like I should be into this a lot more than I am. The movie is being unofficially billed as “this generation’s Life of Brian”, but I’m not impressed with that I’ve seen thus far. I’m a fan of most of the comic cast, a big fan of the director’s earlier work, and the concept has a lot of potential, but I’m not finding many of the jokes particularly funny or clever. It seems like they chose to go for more of a traditional comedy than play with the abundance of possible biblical jokes. Watch the new trailer after the jump and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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