Posted on Friday, September 16th, 2011 by Angie Han
Denzel Washington has reportedly been offered the lead role in the English-language remake of The Secret in Their Eyes, which is being helmed by Billy Ray (Shattered Glass). The original Argentinian version, by director Juan José Campanella, was a critical success that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture in 2010. In other words, no wonder someone in Hollywood’s decided to try and make it all over again.
The dramatic thriller centers around a retired criminal court investigator turned would-be novelist who’s struggling to get over a murder case and a romance that have haunted him for decades. Campanella’s film won raves for its unpredictable plotting, impressive camerawork, and excellent performances. I don’t think the American version sounds bad, so much as just pointless — but if it has to get remade, I suppose there are worse choices than Ray and Washington. [First Showing]
After the jump, Will Forte joins Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn in Neighborhood Watch, and Isla Fisher lands magician heist flick Now You See Me.
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Now You See Me, a thriller that takes place in the world of stage magic, is a film that might be flying under your radar at this point. So let’s change that, because it sounds like it could turn out to be something worth watching.
Screenwriters Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt have come up with a story about The Four Horsemen, a team of master illusionists who pull bank heists during their stage performances and then distributes the takings to each audience, as an FBI team attempts to take them down. Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans) is directing, which seems to set this as a break from his action-oriented resume. And the cast now includes Morgan Freeman as a former magician who now exposes the secrets of magic to the public. Read More »
Here’s one of several casting breaks to come your way in the next few hours, and this one is pretty damned good. Why? Because after the break you’ll find info on the following:
- Nick Nolte takes a role in hard-boiled crime thriller Parker.
- Jesse Eisenberg plays dopplegangers in The Double.
- And Mark Ruffalo and Amanda Seyfried join the increasingly promising FBI vs magicians thriller Now You See Me. Read More »
Posted on Thursday, July 14th, 2011 by Angie Han
Inglourious Basterds and Beginners actress Melanie Laurent is set to star opposite Jesse Eisenberg in Louis Leterrier‘s magician heist movie Now You See Me. The story revolves around FBI agents hunting down a group of world-famous bank-robbing magicians (sorry, illusionists) who shower their audiences with the stolen cash.
Jake Gyllenhaal, who was previously offered a role, has since passed. No news has been announced regarding either Philip Seymour Hoffman or Olivia Wilde, who were also circling parts in the film. The involvement of Laurent and Eisenberg seems like a good sign, though — both actors have good track records, and are probably big and respected enough to help draw in other high-quality talent. [Showblitz]
After the jump, two big ensemble comedy casts get just a little bit larger.
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Jesse Eisenberg and Jake Gyllenhaal have been offered roles in Now You See Me, a magic-infused heist film written by Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt, produced by Star Trek and Transformers writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and directed by Louis Letterier (Clash of the Titans). The film is about F.B.I. agents hot on the trail of a group magicians who use their skills to perform huge heists during their shows and then shower the money on their audiences. Offers are also reportedly out to Philip Seymour Hoffman, Olivia Wilde and Melanie Laurent to star in the film. Read More »
Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers?
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The old saying goes that the greatest gift a man of considerable resources can give a friend is immortality. After basking in the intoxicating, cocksure beauty that is Inglourious Basterds, it’s clear that Quentin Tarantino has done this for his pal, the horror director Eli Roth, by casting him as Jewish-American soldier Sgt. Donny Donowitz. Proudly nicknamed The Bear Jew by his fellow Basterds, Donowitz’s preferred method of Nazi disposal involves an American baseball bat accented with the names of Jewish survivors and supporters. Minding spoilers, Donowitz is largely responsible for the most unanimous, violent act of revenge fantasy for an entire Jewish people. It’s a helluva role to have on any filmography, one sure to become storied with time; and now it’s forever on Roth’s, right above “alleged torture-porn purveyor and creator of the Hostel franchise.”
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Universal Pictures International has released a batch of new photos from Quentin Tarantino‘s Inglourios Basterds on CineMovies (found via ThePlaylist). The new production photos take a look at some of the characters not included in the character posters we’ve been featuring over the past few weeks (as well as some of the “Basterds” we’ve seen before) and some of the location shots from the movie. Above is a photo of Til Schweiger as Sergeant Hugo Stiglitz, an ex-Nazi who is recruited into the Basters unit. More photos after the jump.
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