Briefly: We just saw a behind the scenes photo from Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist in Page 2 this morning, but here’s a real still, scanned from Entertainment Weekly. You probably don’t need the rundown on the lineup here, but from l-r that’s Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Michael Pena, Casey Affleck and, yep, Eddie Murphy. They’re the crew that works in a high-rise building where the penthouse is occupied by an unscrupulous businessman under house arrest. (He’s played by Alan Alda.) The Wall St. crook has taken the crew’s pension, and they aim to steal it back.
Not pictured are Téa Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, and Judd Hirsch. It’s a hell of a cast, and my generally dismissive views of Brett Ratner notwithstanding, I’m hoping for something good here. Would be so good to see Eddie Murphy in a film that was worth a damn. Dreamgirls was a recent positive blip in an otherwise dismal late career. [via The Playlist]
.
Please Recommend /Film on Facebook
Columbia Pictures have released the first official photo from Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer‘s upcoming action comedy 30 Minutes Or Less. The film stars Jessie Eisenberg (Zombieland, The Social Network) as a small town pizza delivery guy who is kidnapped by two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) and is forced to rob a bank. The film also features Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Fred Ward and Michael Pena. Check out the first photo after the jump.
Read More »
This morning, if someone said “You’re going to be reading movie news about two films with the word “Lincoln” in the title today,” you would have laughed in their face.
However, hot off the heels of the big news about Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, we’ve now got your first look at footage from The Lincoln Lawyer. Not to be confused with those little blocks you played with as a kid, The Lincoln Lawyer is a murder mystery starring Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena and Josh Lucas. Though Tommy Lee Jones was originally attached to direct, the job eventually went to Brad Furman, who directed 2007′s The Take.
Based on a novel by Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer looks like Primal Fear with a little more street as a lawyer who conducts business from the back of his Lincoln and gets wrapped up in a high profile case. Lionsgate will release The Lincoln Lawyer on March 18. Check it out the trailer the jump. Read More »
Is Tower Heist going to be the movie that helps turn around some of the prevailingly bad opinion on Brett Ratner? The guy was doing OK before taking over the X-Men franchise from Bryan Singer, at which point his approval rating went right in the toilet. But the cast for Tower Heist is pretty solid (Ben Stiller, Alan Alda and Eddie Murphy) and has just added Gabourey Sidibe and Michael Pena. I like the idea of an action-comedy heist — it fits right alongside Rush Hour in the lineup of ‘things Brett Ratner might be good at’ — and am actually harboring hopes it might be watchable. Read More »
Sony Pictures has released the first movie trailer for Michel Gondry‘s big screen adaptation of The Green Hornet starring Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz and Michael Pena.. The comedy tone of the project might come as a surprise to most, and the big action shots seem unlike anything Gondry has ever produced. Honestly, I’m shocked at how normal and rather generic this film looks, especially considering Gondry’s involvement. Watch the trailer right now embedded after the jump. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Read More »
Will Jesse Eisenberg reunite with his Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer in the latter’s upcoming film 30 Minutes or Less? That’s the suggestion of a Production Weekly print report (via The Playlist) which links the actor to the film, which already has Aziz Ansari in the cast.
Eisenberg and Ansari would be friends Will and Chet, who have a falling out before Will falls in with criminal types Danny McBride, Nick Swardson and Michael Pena, who forcibly recruit him for a crime. Sounds a bit like Pineapple Express (which The Playlist notes) and it’s easy to see Fleischer bringing his Zombieland energy to the story. I’ve read the first thirty pages of the script, and there’s some very funny stuff for Eisenberg, Ansari and the rest of the cast to dig into.
After the break, new talent for I Am Number Four and more changes for Jack and Diane. Read More »
I didn’t have much doubt that a distributor would quickly move on Sylvain Chomet‘s The Illusionist. (Refer back to our previous articles detailing the film, which has origins in an unproduced screenplay by the great Jacques Tati and features a character very much designed after Tati.) In fact, I didn’t have much doubt that it would be anyone other than Sony Pictures Classics, which also released Chomet’s film The Triplets of Belleville. Hopefully SPC can find an audience for this picture; it looks simply beautiful. Check some previously posted footage below. [Variety]
After the break, a distro deal and some new casting for the promising film The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Matthew McConaughey and Marisa Tomei. Read More »
America’s very own Kenny Powers aka The Man with the Golden Dick is officially leaving North Carolina and shipping off to play ball(s) in Mexico, better known as Hell on Earth in recent months due to drug cartel violence, kidnappings, and the rest of it. So, yikes, the “sour patch” seems only to worsen for Danny McBride‘s iconic steroid-taking professional baseball pitcher turned existential curse of an oaf. In early April, I wrote of the confirmation of an international change of setting from Eastbound & Down co-director, David Gordon Green. He first brought up the possibility in 2008 during my set visit. In recent weeks, Puerto Rico had been bandied about quite a bit as a shooting location for the HBO series, but as I hinted, the island will sub in for ever-topical Mexico. The core team has been in Rico working on the scripts for the next eight episodes (its predecessor had six), and shooting begins in May.
Now, Deadline confirms two new regulars for the second season. In line with rumors, many of season uno’s beloved characters won’t be returning. One of the regulars for season two, actor Michael Pena, is a no brainer. He played the amazing thief/mall pig named Dennis in 2009′s Observe & Report, the cult classic sophomore feature from EB&D co-creator and co-director Jody Hill. In a subtle hat tip to the movie and the series’ new setting, fans will recall that Dennis fled America in a raffle car for Mexico where “the water’s warm and the girls are wet. “ More details south of the border, including news and pics of Kenny’s vivacious new lady friend…
Read More »
