2012 looks like it could be a year with a particularly strong crop of movies, and the b-picture isn’t getting left out of the action. This week alone we’ve got The Grey and Man on a Ledge (with the former being a lot more satisfying than the latter) and there are more coming in later months.
One of the more appealing ones is Lockout, aka Lock-Out, aka MS One: Maximum Security, aka a space-set blend of Escape From New York and Taken, starring Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace. (I also see shades of the Jack recruitment mission from Mass Effect 2.) The trailers we’ve seen for the film (here and here) make it look like a great time, and now there is a new one that much more actively sets up the plot, in which Guy Pearce has to rescue the daughter of the US President from a locked-down prison satellite. Check it out below. Read More »
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Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp turns an eye to space for the film Lockout (or Lock-Out depending on where you live), in which Guy Pearce has to rescue Maggie Grace from a prison that has been taken over by the inmates. Yep, there’s a reason this movie has been referred to as ‘Taken in space’ ever since it was in the first stages of production.
But with the international trailer for the movie, Lockout does start to establish some character of its own. The core of the trailer is a conversation between Pearce and Peter Stormare in which Pearce gets slapped around more than a little bit. The effects seen in the trailer look determinately mid-budget, but if Pearce can channel some of the same kick-ass spirit that possessed Liam Neeson in Taken, the effects might not matter much at all. Read More »
Posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 by Angie Han
With Saoirse Ronan already locked in for Andrew Niccol‘s The Host, the search is on for two handsome young lads to play the male leads. Jake Abel has just been selected for the part of Ian, beating out several competitors including Dane DeHaan (The Place Beyond the Pines), Thomas McDonnell (Prom), and Augustus Prew (Charlie St. Cloud). Abel, who’s still negotiating his deal, has worked with Ronan once previously on Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. More recently, he’s also starred in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and I Am Number Four.
Based on a novel by Stephenie Meyer, The Host revolves around a woman named Melanie (Ronan) whose body is possessed by an alien parasite named Wanderer. Ian is a human who initially attacks Wanderer, but eventually falls in love with her. The other major mail character, that of Melanie’s boyfriend Jared, is still being cast; Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), Kit Harrington (Game of Thrones), Jai Courtney (One Shot), and Max Irons (Red Riding Hood) are among the contenders for that part. [Deadline]
After the jump, Taken 2 adds another newcomer and Rose McGowan gets some company in Napa.
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Posted on Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 by Angie Han
My Week with Marilyn star Eddie Redmayne will join Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway in Tom Hooper‘s prestige musical Les Miserables. Based on the hit Broadway show and Victor Hugo‘s classic novel of the same title, the film follows an ex-con named Valjean (Jackman) in 19th century France as he seeks to redeem himself. Redmayne will play Marius, who falls in love with Cosette, daughter of Fantine (Hathaway) and eventual charge of Valjean.
Les Miserables is already being touted as a likely Oscar contender, with a release date of December 7, 2012. Redmayne isn’t exactly a household name yet, but has marked himself as a talent to watch in projects like The Good Shepherd, My Week with Marilyn, and Hick. [Deadline]
After the jump, Rashida Jones and the guy who played Ernest Hemingway in Midnight in Paris befriend Samantha Morton, while David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook picks up a Boardwalk Empire star.
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The nominal news here is that Rade Sherbedgia will play the bad guy in Taken 2, which brings Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace back to the action fold under the brand name that made Fox a surprisingly large amount of money in 2009.
But the real news is that, along with that casting announcement, trades have revealed the plot of the film. It isn’t quite what I expected. According to one account, Taken 2 sounds like a full reversal of the original film. I suspect there’s some exaggeration there, but it still isn’t sounding great. Read the details below and see if you agree. Read More »
Posted on Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 by Angie Han
Olivia Wilde has landed the coveted role of ’70s supermodel Suzy Miller in Rush, Ron Howard‘s Peter Morgan-scripted drama about the real-life rivalry between British Formula One driver James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Austrian racer Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl). Miller married the womanizing Hunt, but then fell in love with Hunt’s friend Richard Burton. Burton agreed to pay the $1 million divorce settlement that Hunt owned Miller, and then married Miller.
Howard is reportedly eyeing Russell Crowe to play the supporting role of Burton, but it doesn’t sound like negotiations are too far along at this time. Rush began preliminary shooting last month, but real principal photography is starting soon. [Deadline]
After the jump, Billy Crudup gets to show off his comedic chops while Helen Hunt, Maggie Grace, and Aaron Paul get to fight breast cancer.
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Oh, romance! Wait, no, it’s just the human-on-sparkle-vampire love story Twilight, which will come one step closer to ending on November 18 when The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 is released. See the new trailer, in which Bella and Edward’s marriage leads to a night of serious sex and the worst pregnancy since Rosemary’s Baby, after the break. Read More »
As we’ve said in several pieces in the past, Rian Johnson‘s third film Looper (which follows Brick and The Brothers Bloom) is one of our most anticipated pictures in the next year or so. FilmDistrict and Tri-Star are releasing the film, and we’d hoped to see it sometime early next year. Sadly, we’re going to have to wait a bit longer than that. Tri-Star has set a date for the film: September 28, 2012. Read More »
