Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Warner Bros has released a red band movie trailer for the upcoming Seth Rogen comedy Observe and Report on the film’s official website. Jody Hill’s follow-up to the cult comedy The Foot Fist Way, which will premiere at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin Texas in March. I have yet to see The Foot Fist Way but I’ve heard nothing but great things. Observe and Report seems like not your typical Seth Rogen comedy, more character based. As Rogen declares that “The World Needs a Fucking Hero” I can’t help but think this is the Anti-Paul Blart film. Watch the trailer embedded after the jump.
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Warner Bros has announced that Observe and Report, Jody Hill’s follow-up to the cult comedy The Foot Fist Way will premiere at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin Texas in March, a month before the film hits theaters on April 10th 2009.. The dark comedy stars Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Pena and Ray Liotta. Read the full press release after the jump.
Observe and Report: A Little Story About Ray Liotta
Posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
One of the 2009 films we’re most anticipating is Observe and Report, due in April, from director Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way). Yesterday, when Peter posted new stills from the R-rated comedy starring Seth Rogen as an obsessive mall cop, several commenters began negatively comparing O&R with January’s stillborn Kevin James vehicle, Paul Blart: Mall Cop; going so far as to resurrect the Armageddon versus Deep Impact theatrical Turdbowl of 1998. According to an acquaintance unrelated to the production who caught a test screening and swears by it: “That’s a terrible analogy. It’s more like, say, compare Song of the South to Gone With the Wind. I mean, no, I haven’t seen Mall Cop, but, c’mon, it’s the opposite of funny.” Okay, that admittedly wasn’t very helpful.
Meanwhile, during our set visit on HBO’s Eastbound and Down, which Hill co-created and co-directed, the general sentiment was that Observe and Report is a batshit TKO. Actor Ben Best has a small role in the film and, while he couldn’t reveal much, he did let out this funny story about Rogen’s adversary in the film: the man, the legend Mr. Ray Liotta…
“Holy shit, this movie. First off, [Observe and Report] has one of the craziest endings you have ever seen. Listen to this. One day, we’re lining up a shot, and we’re standing on these courthouse steps, Seth is there, and Jody tells us to move down. And Jody says, ‘Hey Ray [Liotta], why don’t you go here.’ And Jody’s literally talking about the next step down, and Ray’s like ‘…Why?’
Seth and I just look at each other, like ‘Uhhh?’ So, Jody thinks for a second, and goes ‘Why not?’ And Ray goes, ‘Well, I just don’t think my character would stand on this step.’ And Jody just goes ‘Fuck It.’ So, after it’s over, Ray says to me, ‘You know what I think about that?’ And he just goes [makes ginormous fart noise---an IRL wet fart]. The smell….it was the most disgusting thing ever. He’s crazy in a good way. [laughs] But yeah, some of the funniest shit I’ve ever seen is in that movie. What you’ve heard from the test screenings, we can go much darker; it’s more like a darker Alexander Payne. It’s one of those great comedies…and the homage to Old Boy is retarded.”
And Patton Oswalt plays the mall’s “Cinnabon Man,” so we might want to store that witty, percolating Dante’s Peak/Volcano scenario until the next inevitable round of Bay/Emmerich. If anyone has a story from the set of Paul Blart: Mall Cop about Kevin James putting his hand in his armpit, do tell below.
Warner Bros has released the first two photos for Observe and Report, Jody Hill’s follow-up to the cult comedy The Foot Fist Way. The dark comedy stars Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Pena and Ray Liotta.
The full plot synopsis follows:
“At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt patrols his jurisdiction with an iron fist, combating skateboarders, shoplifters and the occasional unruly customer while dreaming of the day when he can swap his flashlight for a badge and a gun. His delusions of grandeur are put to the test when the mall is struck by a flasher. Driven to protect and serve the mall and its patrons, Ronnie seizes the opportunity to showcase his underappreciated law enforcement talents on a grand scale, hoping his solution of this crime will earn a coveted spot at the police academy and the heart of his elusive dream girl Brandi, the hot make-up counter clerk who won’t give him the time of day. But his single-minded pursuit of glory launches a turf war with the equally competitive Detective Harrison of the Conway Police, and Ronnie is confronted with the challenge of not only catching the flasher, but getting him before the real cops do.”
Observe and Report hits theaters on April 10th 2009.
The Weinstein Co has released a movie trailer for Crossing Over, a “multi-character drama about immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles. The film addresses the issue from the point of view of the immigrants, as well as the immigration authorities tasked with enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.”
Looks a bit too preachy heavy handed or obvious, even for me. A bit like Paul Haggis’ Crash on crack. Harrison Ford is looking a bit old, and is it just me or is Ford starting to sound like Clint Eastwood? The film also stars Ashley Judd, Sean Penn, and Ray Liotta. It’s also worth mentioning that the film is directed by South African filmmaker Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), who also happens to be a naturalized US citizen. Watch the trailer below and tell me your thoughts in the comments.
Watch the trailer in High Definition on Yahoo. Crossing Over hits theaters in 2009.
A few weeks ago, we reported that Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, and 50 Cent would be starring in the American remake of Gela Babluani’s film 13 Tzameti, entitled simply 13. The film centers around a Russian-roulette-style competition where the losers truly lose everything. Last night, Variety reported that Ray Winstone and Ray Liotta have signed on to the new film as well. Winstone will play a mental patient who has gotten himself involved in the competition while Liotta will play the cop trying to track them down. The Variety article also contains a lot of other details, such as what character exactly 50 Cent will be playing (the role seems mercifully small), as well as who will play the young lead (Sam Riley).
We argued about whether the remake was a good idea, but I’m more interested in the choices that the director will make and what he might change from his original film (In a Funny Games-style move, Babluani will be directing the remake). It’s universally agreed that the first 30-40 minutes of the original were crushingly boring, but whether this added to the film or detracted from it is an issue of contention. Will the director try to maintain a similar pacing for the new film? And will the scenes from the competition retain their brutal intensity when the characters speak English, and you can recognize the actors playing them? Whatever the case may be, I think we can certainly agree that 13 will have one of the most badass casts for a crime film in recent memory.
Discuss: Are you excited for this remake?
Here is a round up of stories that just didn’t make the /Film front page, or what we like to call…. Page 2!
A new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull poster has shown up on pipocacombo.
Patrick Swayze will be asked back to reprise the role of ‘Bodhi’ in the recently announced Point Break 2. [Moviehole]
Three new American character banners for Hellboy II: The Golden Party have appeared online. [Empire]
Katie Holmes will make her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller’s play, All My Sons. [justjared]
LOST star Matthew Fox has been sworn to secrecy as he’s the only castmember who knows how the series will end. [CinemaBlend]
Shock has a first look at photos from Dario Argento’s latest horror-thriller Giallo starring Adrien Brody and Emmanuelle Seigner.
Comic book legend Stan Lee enters anime and manga market with new superhero stories written for Japanese audience. [japantimes]
The Boston Globe is reporting that film score composer John Williams is working on “soundtracks for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Jurassic Park IV,” and “Superman: Man of Steel” all scheduled for his touch.”
JoBlo has a photo of the Transporter 3 billboard at Cannes.
Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Jean Smart and M. Emmet Walsh have joined Michael Cera in “Youth in Revolt,” the Miguel Arteta-directed comedy for Dimension Films. [Variety]
PocketGamer.co.uk boasts the first shots of the upcoming mobile edition of the WALL-E video game.
Rejects counts down the Ten Most Memorable Indiana Jones Moments.
Danny Dyer and Mischa Barton are set to star in a deranged spin on Alice in Wonderland entitled Malice in Wonderland. [shock]
Phoenix Pictures has picked up the movie rights to John Grisham’s best-selling novel Playing for Pizza, about a washed-up NFL quarterback who finds a new perspective on life and a love for all things Italian when his agent lands him a deal to play with a semi-professional team in Parma, Italy. [THR]
Watch 5 minutes of footage from the Ghostbusters video game on Kotaku.
Someone is selling the truck from Star Trek IV for $5,595. [trekmovie]
A reader sent over a NSFW photoshop of the WALL-E poster. Click here to see it.
Cinematical takes a look back at the Foreign movie posters of Indiana Jones.
The Weinstein Company will produce Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist in a big-budget adaptation directed by Hollywood star Laurence Fishburne. [reuters]
Guillermo del Toro was forced to drop a three-headed dog from Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The photo above shows the concept. [io9]
YouTube has a a new behind the scenes promo for Heroes: Season 3.
Indiana Jones is now on Twitter.
Adrien Brody to Star in Dario Argento’s Giallo, Vincent Gallo and Ray Liotta No Longer Attached
Posted on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
When I first heard that Adrien Brody had hopped on Dario Argento’s signature serial killer flick Giallo, I pictured him playing the stylish murderer. Vincent Gallo had been typically outspoken about his loathing to play the part due to the involvement of his former fiance and Argento spawn, Asia Argento. Unsurprisingly, Gallo is no longer attached (and neither is Asia). Alas Brody, the Oscar winner who kinda slayed in the underrated The Darjeeling Limited, will apparently play the role of an Italian detective, a role previously rumored for Ray Liotta. No offense to Brody, but Liotta versus Gallo with knife wielding would have been wild, man, wild.
This casting bit arrives with a new log line for the exploitation thriller: “Giallo revolves around an American flight attendant who teams with an Italian investigator to search for her missing sister who has been abducted by a serial killer known only as Yellow.” Argento tackling flight attendants equals awesome. And it’s all the rage to say this right now on the Web, so here ya go: giallo means yellow in Italian. Celebrate this “newfound” morsel of information with a 10-foot party sub.
Discuss: So, is the Brody for Liotta/Gallo trade-out a good one? There’s a lot of “he’s too good for this film, not a good career move” blah blahing going on, but what’s wrong with the buzzing indie direction Brody is going in?
via HR
Guy Ritchie was a cult phenomenon. He rocketed onto the scene with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and soon after created Snatch, which is on the top 10 list of most 20-something film fanatics. But the filmmaker’s career took a nose drive shortly after marrying Madonna (coincidence? I think not). Ritchie is back with a new gangster film starring Ray Liotta, Jason Statham, Vincent Pastore, Andre ‘Andre 3000′ Benjamin and Terence Maynard.
Revolver looks to be exactly what it promises to be, a return to form. I love the close-up gliding shots of the chess game.
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The Truth is Just a Trick of Light. Check out the new poster for Slow Burn.
The movie follows a district attorney (played by Ray Liotta) who is involved in a 24-hour showdown with a gang leader (LL Cool J) and is, at the same time, being manipulated by an attractive assistant district attorney (Jolene Blalock) and a cryptic stranger. Murder at 1600 screenwriter Wayne Beach makes his feature directorial debut.
Filmed in 2003, the movie premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival to lackluster reviews, and has sat on a shelf ever since. I wonder why they’ve now decided to go theatrical? The movie was released direct-to-dvd in a couple other countries last year. The movie is currently getting a 5.8 rating on imdb.
Click on the Poster for a better look.
Slow Burn hits theaters on April 20th 2007.
via: ComingSoon
Goodfellas star Ray Liotta was arrested on Saturday for suspicion of driving under the influence.
Liotta’s SUV hit two parked cars near his home in the Los Angeles, California “upscale coastal suburb” of Pacific Palisades. The actor was booked of a misdemeanor and posted bail.
Ray Liotta recently starred in Smokin’ Aces, which was released in mid-January. He can be seen in Touchstone Pictures’ Wild Hogs out next month.
