Community‘s Dan Harmon is very sorry you had to witness that nasty drama between him and Chevy Chase. Also after the jump:
Posted on Friday, March 23rd, 2012 by Germain Lussier
Today brings two minor updates on Kevin Smith‘s Hit Somebody. The first is from Nicholas Braun, the actor who’ll eventually star in the film as a hockey enforcer who dreams of scoring just one goal. We spoke to Braun on the set of his latest movie, Dylan Kidd’s Get A Job, and he said the version of the script he read is Kevin Smith’s “finest” work and a “love letter to hockey” complete with flashbacks to the origins of the sport.
Also, Smith was recently on Sirius XM’s The Opie and Anthony Show and gave more information on a supporting character comedian Jim Norton will play in the film, a goalie based on hockey legend Glenn Hall. Read more after the jump. Read More »
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.
Posted on Wednesday, September 14th, 2011 by Angie Han
As much as I enjoyed Submarine, I’m thrilled to see that director Richard Ayoade hasn’t decided to forsake his acting career completely. Ayoade is probably best known for his turn as painfully awkward computer tech Moss in the Brit comedy series The IT Crowd, where he proves to be a warm, uniquely hilarious presence from episode to episode. Now Ayoade is set to bring his brand of funny to the States in Akiva Schaffer‘s sci-fi action comedy Neighborhood Watch, where he’ll star alongside Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Nicholas Braun. More details after the jump.
Posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 by Angie Han
Breakout star Melissa McCarthy has signed up for ID Theft, which will team her with the ubiquitous but charming Jason Bateman. As suggested by the title, the comedy follows a man who becomes the target of identity theft. Bateman will play the victim, and McCarthy the thief. McCarthy’s role was originally written for a man, but Bateman (who’s also producing) pushed to cast McCarthy in the part after seeing her inspired, scene-stealing performance in Bridesmaids.
Shooting for ID Theft will begin April 2012, at the start of McCarthy’s hiatus from Mike & Molly. The script was originally written by Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness), and is currently in rewrites with Craig Mazin (The Hangover Part II). [Deadline]
After the jump, new gigs for Natalie Portman and Parks & Recreation lovebirds Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally.
Posted on Thursday, March 17th, 2011 by Germain Lussier
Kevin Smith and hockey go together like, well, Kevin Smith and New Jersey. The filmmaker is a huge fan of the sport and works it into his films whenever he can, such as in the first Clerks and in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Once Smith has finished promoting and showing off his latest film, Red State, he’ll write and direct one more movie before retiring and it’s fitting that his final film will be a hockey movie. It’s called Hit Somebody and is based on the song of the same name by Warren Zevon and Mitch Albom. It’ll star Nicholas Braun as Buddy McCracken, a tough hockey player who just wants to score one goal in a game. Other hockey players will be played by Braun’s Red State co-stars Kyle Gallner and Michael Angarano while his coach, Blue Jay Jennings, will – most likely – be played by John Goodman.
Smith posted a scene from the current draft of the script that features Coach Jennings with a much younger version of Buddy. You can read it after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 by Germain Lussier
On Tuesday, writer director Kevin Smith did a live chat with MTV News in which he discussed a variety of topics including possibly bringing back a few of his old friends for his next film, Hit Somebody. He also came armed with an exclusive clip from his upcoming film Red State. This 55 second clip features multiple award-winning and Best Supporting Actress front runner Melissa Leo as well as three of the actors who Smith plans to bring back for Hit Somebody: Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner and Nicholas Braun.
Having seen the film at Sundance (read my review here) we can put this clip in context by saying it’s from early in the film, doesn’t really spoil much, but will leave you mighty curious as to watch happens next. Check it out after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Sunday, January 23rd, 2011 by Germain Lussier
Kevin Smith’s new film Red State is more than just a departure from his trademark comedic style. It’s almost a complete 180. The bright colors and pop culture references have been replaced with blacks, reds and long monologues about scripture. Smith’s still very reliant on the spoken word – almost to a fault – but now he balances it with machine guns, blood and hand held camera moves. This is a maturing, confident Smith who proves, after Cop Out, he still has a unique voice. With Red State, that voice isn’t saying anything incredibly groundbreaking, and at times it gets a tad preachy, but the director has expanded out of his comfort zone and given audiences a genuine piece of art.
Read the rest of the review and watch a video blog featuring Peter Sciretta and Jeff Goldsmith of Creative Screenwriting Magazine after the jump.
