Posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 by Russ Fischer
While Hollywood held its breath in anticipation of this morning’s Oscar nominations, a few new casting notes slipped out, mostly for upcoming indies. For example, Orlando Bloom will take the lead role in The Good Doctor, which he’ll produce as well. Written by John Enbom, the film is about “a frustrated doctor looking to impress his superiors and colleagues. When his 18-year-old patient, admitted for a kidney infection, provides him with the esteem he so craves, the doctor tampers with her treatment so that she’ll have to stay at the hospital with him.”
Co-starring with Bloom may be an excellent cast: Michael Pena, Troy Garity, Courtney Ford, Taraji P. Henson, Rob Morrow and J.K. Simmons are all negotiating roles. [THR]
After the break, new cast members for the indie The Convincer, which sounds like a point of interest for fans of movies like Fargo. Read More »
A couple weeks ago, we posted the first trailer for Sunshine Cleaning, an wonderful indie dramedy which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
The film has been compared to Little Miss Sunshine, probably because it was produced by the same guys, features a couple of the same cast members, including Academy Award winner Alan Arkin, and even has “Sunshine” in the title. I think this led to some disappointment at Sundance, as the film is a darker and much different film than Little Miss. If you know that going in, you’ll probably enjoy the film a lot more. The second trailer is more traditional, and will give you a better sense of the story. As always, leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Rose Lorkorswki (Amy Adams), a former high school cheerleader and now a thirty-something maid, is trying to create a better life for herself and eccentric eight-year-old son Oscar. Her burn-out younger sister Norah (Emily Blunt) still lives at home with their father Joe (Alan Arkin), who;s on the latest of a life-long string of get-rich-quick schemes. When Rose learns of the big money to be made in the crime scene cleaning and bio-hazard removal business, she and Norah partner up to create their own company, Sunshine Cleaning.
The film sold to Overture films for an estimated $2 million. A July 2008 release date was originally announced, but now the film is scheduled to hit theaters sometime in 2009.
What happened to Sunshine Cleaning? The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, but was met with some disappointment when attendees realized that it wasn’t the next Little Miss Sunshine. A fair comparison considering much of the pre-festival buzz came from the fact that it was produced by the same guys, has “Sunshine” in the title and even features a couple of the same cast members, including Academy Award winner Alan Arkin. If you can look beyond those preconceptions, you will probably enjoy this dark and sometimes morbid dramedy.
Rose Lorkorswki (Amy Adams), a former high school cheerleader and now a thirty-something maid, is trying to create a better life for herself and eccentric eight-year-old son Oscar. Her burn-out younger sister Norah (Emily Blunt) still lives at home with their father Joe (Alan Arkin), who;s on the latest of a life-long string of get-rich-quick schemes. When Rose learns of the big money to be made in the crime scene cleaning and bio-hazard removal business, she and Norah partner up to create their own company, Sunshine Cleaning. The film sold to Overture films for an estimated $2 million. A July 2008 release date was originally announced, but now the film is scheduled to hit theaters sometime in 2009. Check out the trailer below. Tell me what you think in the comments!
Warner Bros has released 39 new photos from Get Smart. Check them out after the jump. As always, click on the images to enlarge. Enjoy.
Official Plot Synopsis: The action comedy “Get Smart” sends CONTROL agent Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) on his most dangerous and important mission: to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. It also happens to be his very first mission. When the headquarters of secret U.S. spy agency CONTROL is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreamt of working in the field alongside his idol, stalwart superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson). Smart is partnered instead with the only other agent whose identity has not been compromised: the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). As Smart and 99 get closer to unraveling KAOS’ master plan–and each other–they discover that key KAOS operative Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his sidekick, Shtarker (Ken Davitian), are scheming to cash in with their network of terror. With no field experience and little time, Smart–armed with nothing but a few spy-tech gadgets and his unbridled enthusiasm–must defeat KAOS if he is to save the day.
Posted on Saturday, January 19th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
From the producers of Little Miss Sunshine comes a dark dramedy starring Amy Adams (Enchanted, Junebug), Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), and Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine). Rose’s son is expelled from school after licking his teacher’s leg, and in order to raise the tuition for private school, the high school cheerleader turned 30-something-year-old maid (Adams) stumbles upon the idea of starting up a lucrative Crime Scene Clean-up business with her screw-up sister Norah (Blunt), who is still living in her father’s (Arkin) house. Joe, a fancy corn salesman, always has a new scheme to make a couple bucks, must now babysit Rose’s son. The morbid job allows the sisters to confront issues with their Mother’s death.
Using the new indie dramedy formula introduced in Little Miss and Juno, Sunshine Cleaning takes on a darker tone, which allows the film to function more as a drama than a comedy. This may be a turn off to some portion of mainstream audiences, but I think the dramatic sequences easily stand on their own. Every moment Alan Arkin is on screen is pure hilarity, however Amy Adams and Emily Blunt turn in lower than average performances. Not to say they are bad, they just aren’t up to the level of some of their previous work (Junebug, Devil Wears). Blunt explores a romantic relationship with the daughter of one of their their crime scene victims. Mary Lynn Rajskub of 24 fame is the second name from the Little Miss cast to appear in Cleaning. I respect the subtlety used in the Rajskub/Blunt relationship. Rajskub is fantastically awkward, as always.
The concept of crime scene cleaning is a fascinating look at a job that you would never even think to realize that exists. Sunshine Cleaning could have explored this aspect more but it isn’t that type of film. As the credits roll, you begin to realize that Sunshine Cleaning is as much about family as Little Miss.
Posted on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007 by Peter Sciretta
Oscar winner Alan Arkin is reuniting with his Little Miss Sunshine co-star Steve Carell in the big-screen version of Get Smart. I’m glad to see that Arkin hasn’t sold out after getting that gold statuette.
Arkin will play the chief of CONTROL, the rganization that fights the evil forces of KAOS. Anyone who has seen the tv show would agree that Arkin is a perfect fit for this role.
Previously reported: Steve Carell (40 Year Old Virgin) will play Maxwell Smart, and Anne Hathaway (Devil Wears Prada) will play Agent 99. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Agent 23) and Terrence Stamp also have been cast.
Seriously now, Get Smart was one of my favorite television shows as a kid (no, I’m not THAT old, I just had a childhood addiction to Nick at Nite) and I’m actually looking forward to this movie adaptation. The show was both smart and funny, and the movie has the talent attached, and potential to out spy Austin Powers. On the other hand, Bewitched was also one of my childhood favorites, and we all know how that turned out.
Tommy Boy and 50 First Dates director Peter Segal is helming the project.
Posted on Saturday, February 24th, 2007 by Peter Sciretta
Little Miss Sunshine won the top prize at the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards, a day before the underdog indie comedy competes for Best Picture at the 2007 Academy Awards. Could the little indie that could win an Oscar? Check out the full list of winners after the jump.
Best Feature: Little Miss Sunshine Best Female Lead: Shareeka Epps for Half Nelson Best Male Lead: Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson Best Supporting Female: Frances McDormand for Friends with Money Best Supporting Male: Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine Best Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris for Little Miss Sunshine Best Screenplay: Jason Reitman for Thank You for Smoking Best First Screenplay: Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine Best Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro for Pan’s Labyrinth Best First Feature:Sweet Land Best Foreign Film: Leben der Anderen, Das Best Documentary:The Road to Guantanamo John Cassavetes Award:Quincea�era Truer Than Fiction Award: P.O.V.: The Tailenders (#19.5)
I’m glad to see Quincea�era get an award, but I’m surprised that Pan’s Labyrinth didn’t win best feature.
Posted on Tuesday, February 20th, 2007 by Peter Sciretta
I never thought I’d see the day when they would have a college class to study Kevin Smith’s films. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I’d take it — Hell, I could teach it: CA 520J - Films of Kevin Smith (1 credit hour) This course will examine the films of prolific Indy film director Kevin Smith. It will delve into Smith’s history, his entry into filmmaking, his development as a director and writer, and explore motifs and themes as seen in his films. The course will also examine Smith’s trademark “wordy” style in terms of storytelling and narrative flow. 22020171 M Tu W Th 03:30-06:50PM Moore 109 Smith, Jeffrey. Class meets MAY 21 - MAY 24
Camera Phones are banned from the Academy Awards: “…guests are not allowed to bring cameras, including phones with a camera feature…”
Remember: Polls for the 79th Academy Awards close today at 5:00pm PST.
Sirius and XM are merging! Great, now Howard Stern is going to be forced to play nice with Opie and Anthony, and Oprah Winfrey and Friends. It’s bad enough he’s had to smile it up around Martha Stewart.
Steve Zahn (Sahara) has been cast opposite Amy Adams (Junbug), Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) in Christine Jeffs’ (Sylvia) dark comedy Sunshine Cleaning. Zahn plays a married police officer having an affair with the co-owner (Adams) of a firm that cleans up messy crime scenes.
Did you hear that high pitched sound in The Messengers trailer? Me neither. I guess we’re too old.
Scarlett Johansson was named sexiest celebrity of the year by Playboy, taking the crown from Jessica Alba.
Posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2007 by Peter Sciretta
Yes, that’s Steven Spielberg talking to Jerry Seinfeld dressed in a Bee suit.
Last year the first teaser trailer was released for Jerry Seinfeld’s computer animated film The Bee Movie. Many people were angry that the teaser was false advertising, as it was done in live action. A second trailer has finally been released, and it also contains live action footage, but cleverly transitions into the actual computer animation. See that after the jump. Read More »
Arkin will play the chief of CONTROL, the rganization that fights the evil forces of KAOS. Anyone who has seen the tv show would agree that Arkin is a perfect fit for this role.
The Departed
Martin Scorsese for The Departed
Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland
Helen Mirren for The Queen
