Years ago, the idea of Brendan Fraser working with Neil LaBute would have been appealing. In 1998 it would have been the guy from Gods & Monsters being directed by the firebrand behind Your Friends and Neighbors. Good stuff. Now, well, it’s the guy from Furry Vengeance directed by the guy behind The Wicker Man. Not such an easy sell.
Still, let optimism reign. Brendan Fraser will star in Seconds of Pleasure, the new film Neil LaBute, about which details are non-existent. All we know is it will shoot in the UK this March. Alongside him will be Kristin Scott Thomas, with possible additions Colin Firth and Ed Harris. So that’s quite a solid cast if things come together. I’d love to see both these men make a good film again, so fingers are crossed. [Deadline]
After the break, that Kevin James MMA film gets a director. Read More »
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In the past few weeks we’ve started to see footage from The Way Back, which marks the return of great Australian director Peter Weir. Our last look at the film (besides the poster) was a UK trailer that was a good introduction to the story of escapees from a Siberian gulag trying to make their way to safety. Now Newmarket films has released a US trailer for the film, which will get an Oscar-qualifying run in December before opening for real on January 21. Read More »
And the first photo from Man on a Ledge, which just began shooting with Sam Worthington starring as the titular character, shows…Sam Worthington on a ledge. How appropriate. Ed Harris has joined the cast, too, which makes this talent lineup a bit more interesting. More info on Asger Leth‘s in-progress film after the break. Read More »
Peter Weir has been making stunning films for forty years. Part of the Australian New Wave, he turned out landmarks Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave (get thee to Criterion if you haven’ t seen those!) as early features before segueing into ambitious mainstream movies like The Truman Show and Master and Commander.
The latter stood as his last film for the past six years, but now Peter Weir is back with the epic prison escape movie The Way Back, starring Colin Farrell, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris and Saoirse Ronan. The film will get an Academy qualifying run this December. Watch the new UK trailer below. Read More »
The indie comedy/thriller Salvation Boulevard got an interesting trio of actors today: Pierce Brosnan, Ed Harris and Jim Gaffigan have all joined the cast. What’s the story? The film “is set in the world of mega-churches in which a former Deadhead-turned-born again-Christian finds himself on the run from fundamentalist members of his mega-church who will do anything to protect their larger-than-life pastor.”
Having lived in a couple areas spotted by mega-churches I kinda love this. George Ratliff is directing from a script he co-wrote with Douglas Stone, based on Larry Beinhart‘s novel Salvation Boulevard. I didn’t much like Ratliff’s last film, Joshua, but this cast is great and the story sounds like a good time. [Variety]
After the break, Susan Sarandon and Jaime King land new roles. Read More »
I’ve got no doubt that Peter Weir is one of the greatest of great filmmakers working today and every one of his too-rare films is a real event for me. While I’m waiting for his next picture The Way Back every little scrap of information is valuable, so I’m doing cartwheels at the first set of stills. You can see them all after the break.
Here’s the movie’s official synopsis, which really should have been worded in a less blurby-cheesy fashion:
Six-time Academy Award Nominee Peter Weir Directing. Based on the novel The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz. Award Winning A-List cast; Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan.
When they escape a Siberian labor camp in 1940 seven courageous multi-national prisoners discover the true meaning of friendship as their epic journey takes them across thousands of miles of hostile terrain en-route to India and their freedom.
The true meaning of friendship? Ick.
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Four stark profile posters for Ed Harris‘s revival Western, Appaloosa, have popped up at IMP Awards. The film reunites Harris with his A History of Violence co-star Viggo Mortensen for a tale of “two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.” The widow is played by Renee Zellweger, and the antagonist by Jeremy Irons, who seems like a inspired choice for this type of genre and setting.
Harris’s previous film, the 2001 biopic Pollock, garnered two Oscar noms including Best Actor for his performance. Opening this October, early buzz for Appaloosa from the TIFF is mixed, with disappointed comparisons to recent feted Westerns like The Proposition and 3:10 to Yuma. We’ve included the other two posters after the jump, as well as the original one-sheet released earlier this year. And for Western buffs, the film is an adaptation of Robert Parker‘s novel, not a remake of Marlon Brando’s The Appaloosa (1966). Factoid: the title refers to a breed of horse.
Discuss: With this cast, where do you expect Appaloosa to fall in comparison to recent Westerns?
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Ben Affleck’s directorial debut Gone Baby Gone is nothing short of one of this year’s best. It’s a great film, with a few unexpected twists. Ed Harris easily earns an Oscar Nomination before your eyes, and I think this might be Casey Affleck’s breakout role. Our friends at Collider have five clips from this amazing film. Check them out, and mark this movie on your calendar (October 19th).
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