Posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
A batch of new posters have hit the interwebs today, including a final one-sheet for Robert Zemeckis‘ A Christmas Carol, the Lionsgate horror sequel SAW VI and the book adaptation Men Who Stare at Goats starring George Clooney. Preview the posters after the jump.
Posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 by Russ Fischer
Grant Heslov’s war comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats premiered recently in Venice and will soon be playing the Toronto International Film Festival. Positive reviews are coming in, and the underlying impression is that if you were hoping for a kooky, madcap comedy based on the trailer, that’s more or less exactly what you’ll get. To bolster that impression, distributor Overture has released a short clip featuring George Clooney and Ewan McGregor; see it after the break. Read More »
Posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 by Kevin Kelly
Let’s face it. As far as superpowers go, the ability to move things with your brain is pretty awesome. Sure, flying is cool, turning invisible would have fun benefits, and super-strength could always come in handy. Plus it’s a lot cooler than all the “problem” superpowers, like having your entire body burst into flame, turning into some disgusting creature, or having your power be that you’re just extremely fat, and bouncy, like the Blob.
It’s just not the first power that leaps into people’s minds when they get asked, “If you could have one superpower, what would it be?” Maybe because that other stuff is too sexy. However, it’s the real thinking man or woman who chooses telekinesis, because once you realize the full potential of that power, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. As the telekinetic Push opens up this weekend, read on for an ultra-brief history of telekinesis, and find out how it’s affected cinematic history.
Posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Bad and Ugly has the first set photo of George Clooney in costume on the Albuquerque, New Mexico set of Grant Heslov’s adaptation of Men Who Stare at Goats. Based on Jon Ronson’s 2004 book about U.S. military efforts to develop paranormal powers for American soldiers. Clooney plays a U.S. Army First Earth Battallon unit member who goes to battle using ancient Chinese mind techniques.
Posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
If you’re a moviegoer who doesn’t generally dislike George Clooney but reacts to movie news about him like an allergic reaction to salt-and-peppered dander, you’ll want to make an exception here. The actor is set to star in an adaptation of Jon Ronson’s book, Men Who Stare at Goats, a wily nonfiction account of the U.S. army’s history of dabbling in the supernatural that leads up to the current quagmire in Iraq. Here’s a synopsis from Amazon…
“As Ronson reveals, a secret wing of the U.S. military called First Earth Battalion was created in 1979 with the purpose of creating “Warrior Monks,” soldiers capable of walking through walls, becoming invisible, reading minds and even killing a goat simply by staring at it. …But Ronson soon learns that the Battalion’s bizarre ideas inspired some alarming torture techniques being used in the present-day War on Terror. One technique involves subjecting prisoners to 24 hours of Barney the Purple Dinosaur’s song, “I Love You,” and another makes use of the Predator, a small, toy-like object designed by military martial arts master Pete Brusso that can inflict a large amount of pain in many different ways…”
Cool subject matter almost lending itself to a Coens-esque romp, no? The film will be directed by multitasker Grant Heslov, a partner in Clooney’s Smoke House imprint, with a script by Peter Straughan (the upcoming adaptation of Toby Young’s How to Win Friends and Alienate People). After the prototypically classy Michael Clayton and Leatherheads, it’s time Clooney put on a nappy wig and went a little batshit like Nic Cage in Raising Arizona or Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Between this project, foregoing too much current event storyline, and September’s dark and quirky Burn After Reading, it would seem he’s headed on a similarly looney, and successful, trajectory.
via Variety (oh yeah, and shame, shame)
