Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
“From the director of Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen” might tell you everything you need to know about the sales pitch for Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant. Based on the true story of Mark Whitacre, played by Matt Damon, who blew the whistle on price-fixing policies at grain processing conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, the film adapts the book of the same name by Kurt Eichenwald. But the trailer promises anything but a dry boardroom battle. Cut to ‘Flight of the Valkyries’ and pop song ‘Would I Lie To You?’ and featuring some great moments from co-stars Scott Bakula and Tony Hale, this looks like The Insider meets Top Secret. Watch the trailer after the jump. Read More »
Walt Disney Pictures has released the movie trailer for the American redub of Legendary Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s latest movie Ponyo. The film will be released on over 800 screens, the largest American release yet for Miyazaki. And the trailer features some fantastic visuals which will hopefully appeal to the masses. You can see this trailer in theaters this weekend attached to My Sister’s Keeper or watch it now after the jump. As always, leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Kenneth Lonergan is the playwright behind This is Our Youth, The Waverley Gallery and Lobby Hero; the script-fixer that lent a hand to Gangs of New York and - incredibly - Rocky and Bullwinkle; and the writer-director of You Can Count on Me and Margaret. Not to put too fine a point on it, Lonergan is a very accomplished writer and, as displayed by You Can Count on Me, a fine director.
What, then, has happened to Margaret? Filmed in late 2005, Lonergan’s second film was to star Anna Paquin, Mark Ruffalo and Matt Damon. The shoot seemed to go very well, and early signs were fantastic. Then, Lonergan stepped into the editing room and things started to wobble somewhat. Thanks to a series of legal documents that have come into the possession of The LA Times, the horror stories of what seems to be one of the most absurdly protracted post production nightmares, can finally come to light.
David O Russell To Direct Christian Bale in The Fighter
Posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
The Fighter has been struggling to make it to the big screen for the last two years, and is finally back on track with David O Russell at the helm. Christian Bale is now signed to play Dicky Eklund, a real life boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded after a run of drugs and crime. Dicky shepherded his half-brother “Irish” Micky Ward in a Rocky-like rise to world lightweight champion. 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. Ward lost each one.
Matt Damon Turned Down Captain Kirk Role in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek?
Posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Update: /Film reader Miguel P points out that Damon has denied this in previous interviews (see youtube ), so who’s telling the full truth?
When the Star Trek reboot was first announced, rumor had it that Matt Damon was going to play Captain Kirk. That never came to pass, but apparently there is a bit of truth to it. JJ Abrams confirms to America’s Life Magazine that he actually wanted Damon to play the famous Starfleet Captain, but the Bourne actor decided against taking the role.
Last we heard, Universal was trying to get a fourth film in the Jason Bourne series on track for a Summer 2010 release. Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass were signed on to return, all they needed was a screenplay and a shooting schedule that fit. But the tentatively discussed Summer 2009 shoot doesn’t seem to be on the horizon.
Producer Frank Marshall updates us on the status via Twitter saying that Bourne Ultimatum/Ocean’s Twelve scribe George Nolfi “should have a draft by June” 2009 and that the film “is in the works for Summer 2011.” This of course would mean that the film would need to go into production by Summer 2010, October at very latest. “It really take long to get these scripts right! :),” admits Marshall. Marshall has previously stated that he would like to see Bourne go to South America in his next adventure, which will be the first movie not based on a Robert Ludlum novel.
Legendary Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s latest movie Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea will finally be getting a domestic release. The film was released last July in Japan, and has since grossed over ¥15.0 billion ($153.1 million). Disney’s John Lasseter has been working with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy to make the American release of the movie, Miyazaki’s “biggest hit ever Stateside.” Spirited Away earned a little more than $10 million stateside on 714 screens, and the plan is to give Ponyo an even wider release. The movie, retitled just Ponyo, hits theaters on August 14th 2009, and Disney has announced the English-language voice cast.
Noah Cyrus provides the voice of a baby goldfish named Ponyo who desires to be a human, and gets her wish. She runs away from her home in the sea and befriends a five-year-old human boy named S?suke (voiced by Frankie Jonas). Other cast members include Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin and Betty White.
/Film reader “Sauce” attended a test screening for the Paul Greengrass war thriller Green Zone, which is based on the 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran, and stars Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, and Brendan Gleeson.
There is still no release date for this movie (but last I heard, the studio was aiming for a November/December 2009 opening), so I assume that that it is a very early cut of the film without final effects, 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 review after the jump.
First Look: Clint Eastwood’s The Human Factor with Matt Damon
Posted on Saturday, March 14th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Photos have surfaced from the set of The Human Factor, the Nelson Mandella biopic directed by Clint Eastwood that is currently shooting on location in South Africa. The pics show co-star Matt Damon outfitted as Francois Pienaar, captain of the 1995 South African rugby team that took the World Cup and “capped Mandela’s miraculous 10-year effort to bring 43 million South Africans together in an enduring bond.” Morgan Freeman, who is co-producing with Eastwood, will play Mandella primarily during the years following his 23-year imprisonment, in which he served a term as president after the fall of apartheid. Set for release in December, the film is based on the book Playing the Enemy by John Carlin. Photos via TB&U. One more after the jump.
Also of note, Eastwood’s previous directorial effort (and possibly his last as an actor), 2008’s Gran Torino, continues to hold at the box office in lieu of being blatantly shut-out of the Academy Awards and dividing /Film’s staff. As of yesterday, it has taken in a massive $142 million plus, the biggest domestic gross of his career.
Matt Damon’s Adjustment Bureau Out to Studios
Posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
Phillip K. Dick’s Adjustment Team is coming to the movies - at least providing some brave studio is willing to take a punt on a Matt Damon sci-fi romance movie. So, no question then. This will get snapped up, recession or no recession.
According to Variety, the proposed movie version has been retitled Adjustment Bureau, for all the Kafkaesque implications that provides, and comes as a package: Damon to star, George Nolfi to direct from his own screenplay. Nolfi previously scripted Ocean’s Twelve (which is my favorite of the three) and The Bourne Ultimatum (again, my favorite of the three) and is now inking the screenplay for Bourne 4.
George Nolfi To Write Fourth Jason Bourne Film
Posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
So what’s the latest on the fourth film in the Jason Bourne series? Last we heard, producer Frank Marshall was hoping to begin shooting next Summer for a 2010 release. Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon have already signed on, all they need now is a script. Today it was announced that Universal is serious about doing a fourth film, hiring George Nolfi to write the script. Not only was Nolfi a co-writer on Bourne Ultimatum, but he also wrote Ocean’s Twelve.
The next film in the series will not even be loosely based on one of the novels, but will instead be an entirely new adventure (with a possible South American destination). From what I understand, the sequels to the original Robert Ludlum novels left much to be desired. Lets hope that Nolfi can come up with something better.
source: Variety
Serial Killer Films: Tom Cruise Developing The Monster of Florence. Matt Damon to Star in $100 Million Torso? David Fincher Off?
Posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Tom Cruise will produce and possibly star in an adaptation of Douglas Preston’s non-fiction bestseller, The Monster of Florence, for his studio United Artists. When Preston relocated his family to Italy in 2000, he soon became aware of a nearby murder committed years ago by the region’s serial killer, the Monster of Florence. Intrigued, he teamed up with a local obsessive investigative journalist to track him down. This culminated in the duo falling under the suspicion of authorities, with the journalist ultimately being thrown behind bars and pegged for a short time as the “Monster.”
You may recall seeing these highly engrossing events reported on Dateline NBC. Clearly, there are parallels to David Fincher’s Zodiac and its titular killer, as Italy’s elusive Monster targeted and killed seven pairs of lovers from 1974 to 1985. Author Thomas Harris found inspiration in the case for 1999’s Hannibal. No word on a director or what role Cruise would play, if he decides to star.
via Trades/Publishers Weekly
Discuss: Anyone read The Monster of Florence? Cool project for Cruise? We mentioned the Hughes Brothers’ From Hell earlier. What’s your favorite serial killer film? Maniac, anyone?
According to an article on Cleveland.com, Matt Damon is set to star as a post-Capone Eliot Ness in Torso, Paramount’s adaptation of the graphic novel by Brian Bendis and Marc Andreyko. Apparently producer Bill Mechanic would like the film to shoot in Ohio, where the famed “Torso Murderer” dismembered 12 people in the mid-to-late ’30s, but there’s a problem with tax incentives.
On top of the casting announcement, this news is surprising for three reasons: 1) Until now, Torso seemed to be in a state of flux. 2) Peter ended the silence about David Fincher’s testy ongoing relationship with Paramount per Benjamin Button, and until now, Fincher was attached to direct for the studio. Fincher is tellingly not mentioned in the piece. 3) Filming is said to start early next year in Ohio or possibly in ever-Hollywood-friendly Michigan, with a budget reportedly set at $100 million, which mirrors Zodiac’s, a box office disappointment.
Discuss: Given the macabre and difficult material (the killer was never found), this budget surprises me. If Fincher’s not directing, as we speculate, who would be a solid replacement? Damon for Ness, no complaints here from Slashfilm.
