When Creation played Toronto to largely dismissive reviews, the film’s producer attempted to drum up interest by manufacturing controversy. He claimed that the film wasn’t finding distribution in the US because of active Christian resistance to a film about Charles Darwin. So there’s no small irony to the fact that it has now been picked up for US distribution by Newmarket Films, the distributor of The Passion of the Christ. Read More »
One of the trailers we missed last week was the British promotional trailer for Jon Amiel‘s Creation. Based on the book Annie’s Box by Randal Keynes, the great-grandson of Charles Darwin, the film tells the story of a world-renowned scientist who conceives a book which will essentially prove the non-existence of God. Of course we’re talking about Charles Darwin and “The Origin of Species.” The film tells the story on a more personal scale, telling how the “global revolution played out in confines of a small English village; a passionate marriage torn apart by the most dangerous idea in history; and a theory saved from extinction by the logic of a child.” Paul Bettany stars as Darwin, and Jennifer Connelly plays his wife Emma. Watch the trailer after the jump.
Posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
The proposed horror film Born has been described as a fantasy film and as a psychological thriller. The plot reportedly revolves around a married couple, the husband of which is a stop-motion animator, settling down in a quaint English town and then getting terrorised by his claymation creations.
When I first heard about the film it was in a Variety piece that named an amazing array of talent attached as writers, producers and stars. Apparently, Daniel Simpson was attached to direct from a screenplay he had written with Paul Kaye, Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly were set to star, the Chiodo brothers were to supply stop-motion effects, and Guillermo Del Toro and Cliver Barker were among the producers. Surely the poster for that film alone could secure a multi-million dollar budget? Well… I’ve put the poster down at the bottom of the post and you can judge how much it really would cost (in Chewitts and milk bottle tops if you think dollars inappropriate) for yourself.
9 is a computer animated film produced by Tim Burton (The Corpse Bride) and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nightwatch), directed by former WETA Digital artist Shane Acker, and featuring the music of Danny Elfman. Based on Acker’s Academy Award-nominated 2005 film festival short (watch it on YouTube), 9 is a post-apocalyptic nightmare in which all of humanity is threatened. The official plot synopsis follows:
“When 9 (Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.”
The group includes 1 (Christopher Plummer), a domineering war veteran; 2 (Martin Landau), an aged inventor; 5 (John C. Reilly), a stalwart mechanic; 6 (Crispin Glover), a visionary and artist; and 7 (Jennifer Connelly), a brave warrior. I like Acker’s unique art style which could be described as a darker/post apocalyptic version of what Tim Burton use to do, with a touch of LittleBigPlanet. Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
[flv:http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/slashfilm/trailers/9trailer.flv 470 248]
Watch the trailer in High Definition on Apple. 9 hits theaters on 9.9.09.
Posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Darren Aronofsky appeared on the Howard Stern show today, and was again downplaying the upcoming Robocop reboot/remake, which he is attached to develop and direct for MGM. When asked if he was directing the next Robocop movie, Aronofsky replied “Oh, I don’t know. We’ll See. We’re working on a screenplay. So we’re developing it but we don’t have a screenplay yet. We’re working hard on it.”
The filmmaker was also making some strange/vague comments about the project at The Wrestler junket last week. Other blogs have already begun to speculate that Darren is either off the project, or it just isn’t going to happen anymore. It’s a little to early to jump to conclusions. Darren is a n extremely sly guy, and I’m convinced that this just might be his way of redirecting the questions back to his current project.
Aside from that, Aronofsky revealed a bunch of interesting tidbits during the interview:
The Budget for The Wrestler was about $7 million, but the budget was a whopping $19 million when Nicolas Cage was attached to star. We’ve talked a little bit about this in our Toronto interview with Aronofsky, but he does say that “two days after we won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival [Nicolas Cage] sent a text saying that ‘The Ram was always Mickey, congratulations.’ He is real class.” … “I thought Nic could have done it, but I had worked so long working with Mickey that it was just the Ram in my head was Mickey.”
Tomorrow, Darren is making the journey to Stamford Connecticut to show The Wrestler to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. I don’t think they would be making such a reach-out if the Fox Searchlight/WWE weren’t interested in doing some kind of promotion for the film.
On Jennifer Connelly‘s double penetration (/Film commenters have corrected me, it’s actually “ass-to-ass”) scene in Requiem for a Dream: “That was a tough night. It was a full night of shooting, and after my DP turned to me and said ‘Darren, thats the most fucked up thing we’ve ever done.’” … “I was just very strait up. It’s based on a novel by Hubert Shely Jr. It’s a very very hardcore novel. One the day of, she started to get very nervous. And I said to her, ‘Look, this film is exactly what the book is. It’s about going as dark and as far as you can go. And if we don’t go that far, we’re undermining the book and the whole point of doing the movie.”
Dave Chappelle was Aronofsky’s first choice for the role of Tyrone in Requiem for a Dream: “I always wanted a comedian for that role because when I read it in the book I thought the guy had a lot of humor. I actually went to Chappelle first and I begged Chappelle to do it.” I’m glad that Marlon Wayans got the part, because I just can’t imagine what Requiem for a Dream would have been like with Chappelle.
Posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
New Line has released a new movie trailer, poster, and a bunch of new production photos for Ken Kwapis’ big screen adaptation of He’s Just Not That Into You.
The film has a wonderful cast: Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long, Ben Affleck, Kevin Connolly (Entourage) (notice how I excluded Jennifer Aniston even though she’s clearly one of the leads? That was on purpose. I don’t like her very much. She is the opposite of wonderful). The film is about modern day relationships and how men and women often misconstrue the intentions of the opposite sex. The authors of the book that the film is based on were consultant and story editors on Sex and the City, which might give you a good idea what to expect.
Three more photos after the jump.
Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
20th Century Fox has released a five minute trailer for The Day The Earth Stood Still on Yahoo. As expected, much of the extended trailer was featured in the television presentation last month. From what I gather, I think I’m the only one who thinks this looks bad. But even I’ll admit, Gort looks cool.
Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” is 20th Century Fox’s contemporary reinvention of its 1951 classic. Keanu Reeves portrays Klaatu, an alien whose arrival on our planet triggers a global upheaval. As governments and scientists race to unravel the mystery behind the visitor’s appearance, a woman (Jennifer Connelly) and her young stepson get caught up in his mission – and come to understand the ramifications of his being a self-described “friend to the Earth.”
The Day The Earth Stood Still hits theaters on December 12th 2008.
“My name is Klaatu Reeves and I have come to Earth to warn you of Hancock.” The first trailer for December’s big budget remake of 1951′s The Day the Earth Stood Still is now online after premiering in front of Will Smith’s ne’er-do-well superhero flick. Under an icy blue tint, the preview quickly evokes Close Encounters, The Abyss, Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Contact and Langoliers before closing in on the modern green message, an aspect that Keanu Reeves has mentioned briefly in the press….
“The version I was just working on, instead of being man against man, it’s more about man against nature. My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I’m a friend to the earth.”
The special effects by Weta Digital—the emphasis here is on a large alien orb and apocalyptic destruction—seem crisp and foreboding enough. Glimpses of a cast that includes Jennifer Connelly, Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm (his first major movie role) and Kathy Bates, give the impression that director Scott Derrickson (Exorcism of Emily Rose) may have crafted a classier Day After Tomorrow. If so, that would slightly exceed most fanboys’ early expectations for the film. Alas, do you see Gort? Check out the comments.
[flv:http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/slashfilm/trailers/thedaytheearth.flv 470 200]
Watch the trailer in high resolution on filmweb.no.
Synopsis: Updating the 1951 sci-fi classic’s Cold War and religious themes, Keanu Reeves stars as Klaatu, a mysterious man from another world who warns Earth’s humans that unless they change their gluttonous and harmful ways and pay more attention to the planet’s needs, aliens will swoop down and destroy them for good. :0
The Day the Earth Stood Still opens on December 12th.
Discuss: What do you think of the trailer to The Day the Earth Stood Still? Does it appear to be what you expected? Will Reeves make a Klaatu for the ages? Also, Gort fans, chime in.
