Posted on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 by Peter Sciretta
/Film reader “PWH” attended an early screening for the sports drama David O. Russell’s The Fighter, and says the film will be an awards contender. The film tells the story of Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), a real life boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded after a run of drugs and crime.
Shepherded his half-brother “Irish” Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), Dicky had a Rocky-like rise to the world lightweight championship. Ward fought throughout the mid-’80s and ’90s, but he’s best remembered for three battles with Arturo Gotti, two of which went down as the greatest in the history of the sport. Amy Adams plays “a tough, gritty bartender and former college high-jumper” who ends up dating Wahlberg’s character.
The Fighter doesn’t yet have a release date (but is expected to hit theaters in late 2010), so I assume that that it is a very early cut of the film without final cuts, sound mix or score. A lot could change between now and the time of release, they might even do some reshoots. Who knows. Just wanted to add a bit of context. Read the reader test screening review after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Sunday, November 29th, 2009 by Russ Fischer
I’ve been keenly eyeing news on John Hillcoat’s potential adaptation of The Wettest County in the World, scripted by Nick Cave based on the novel by Matt Bondurant. There’s been significant maybe/hopefullycasting news for the film so far, but not much more. Hillcoat seems to have Shia LaBeouf and Ryan Gosling interested and/or attached, and there was word that other actors, like Scarlett Johansson and Michael Shannon, were interested. Now, based on some art from the American Film Market, it appears that the leading female role will go, in an ideal world, to Amy Adams. And the film may just have a slightly shorter and more generic title: The Promised Land. Read More »
Posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Universal Pictures has released the first movie trailer for Leap Year, which is a romantic comedy about a woman who has an elaborate scheme to propose to her boyfriend on Leap Day.
Amy Adams and Matthew Goode star in Leap Year, a romantic comedy that follows one woman’s determined quest to get married to the perfect guy…despite what fate has in store for her. When their four-year anniversary passes without a marriage proposal, Anna (Amy Adams) decides to take matters into her own hands. Investing in an Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men on February 29th, Anna decides to follow her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) to Dublin and get down on one knee herself. But airplanes, weather and fate leave Anna stranded on the other side of Ireland, and she must enlist the help of handsome and surly Declan (Matthew Goode) to get her across the country. As Anna and Declan bicker across the Emerald Isle, they discover that the road to love can take you to very unexpected places.
From Anand Tucker, the director of Shopgirl and Hilary and Jackie, and based on a screenplay by Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy and Can’t Hardly Wait scribes Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, comes another middle of the road romantic comedy where the female character appears to be reduced to a marriage obsessed spaz. I’d love to say that I’ll never see this film, but sadly, I’ll watch almost any movie that Amy Adams is involved in. Watch the trailer after the jump, and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Now this seems like a winning combination. Zach Galifianakis has been riding a rocket of success following his scene-stealing performance in The Hangover, and Amy Adams is simply always fun to see on screen. The two are currently in talks for the next film by John Carney, director of Once, which was among my favorite films of its year. The project is a dramedy entitled Town House which has been brewing since before the writer’s strike in 2007.
According to Variety, the film is based on the Tish Cohen novel of the same name. The plot revolves around an agoraphobic man who lives in an inherited town house with his teenage son. He’s forced to reassess his life after royalties from his rock star father start to dry up, and ends up befriending a call girl.
Posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 by Russ Fischer
David O. Russell’s The Fighter, the project he inherited from Darren Aronofsky, just started shooting and JustJared has the first shots of co-star Christian Bale on set. Mark Wahlberg plays the boxer “Irish” Micky Ward, who hails from Lowell, MA, where the film is shooting. Bale plays his half-brother Dicky Eklund, Ward’s sometime trainer and small-time criminal. JustJared’s headline (Christian Bale Looks Crack Cocaine Addicted) isn’t just a dig against his look for the film; Edlund was featured in the 1995 documentary High on Crack Street and has battled drug addiction for years. Read More »
Since the leaked Transformers 2 trailer was taken down, I thought I’d bring you something equally as exciting (yes, that is sarcasm). Columbia Pictures has released the trailer for Nora Ephron’s (Bewitched, You’ve Got Mail, Michael, Sleepless in Seattle) Julie & Julia on Moviefone. The film is actually an adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Julie Powell’s Julie & JuliaandMy Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme.
“Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends…until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible. ”
Up front and center are the performances by Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Check out the trailer after the jump and leave your thoughts in the comments below. Read More »
ComingSoon has the first two minutes of the new indie dramedy Sunshine Cleaning, that stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as two sisters who get the idea to become crimescene cleaners to make some extra cash. I enjoyed this film when I caught it at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, but David Chen wasn’t as entertained. The film is already playing in New York City and Los Angeles, but expands wider on April 3rd. I’d suggest adding it to your netflix, and wait until it hits DVD/Blu-ray. Watch the two minute clip embedded after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Simon Beaufoy, the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of Slumdog Millionaire, has been hired to write Leap Year for Spyglass Entertainment. Shopgirl director Anand Tucker is set to helm the romantic comedy which stars Amy Adams as a woman who comes up with an idea to travel to Dublin to propose to a man on February 29th, when according to Irish tradition, men must say yes. And as would be expected in the romantic comedy genre, she comes against various difficulties along the way.
The screenplay that attracted both Tucker and Adams to the project was originally written by Harry Elfont and Deb Kaplan, the duo behind Can’t Hardly Wait (one of my favorite teen movies) and A Very Brady Sequel (one of my favorite television to film adaptations). No reason was given as to why they are doing a complete rewrite, but with someone like Simon attached, I don’t think a reason is really necessary.
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!
