Entertainment Tonight ran a behind the scenes feature on Christina Aguilera’s live-action big screen film debut Burlesque. Steven Antin’s contemporary musical tells the story of Ali, “an ambitious small-town girl with a big voice” played by Aguilera, who “tries to escape a hollow past by performing in a neo-burlesque club in Los Angeles.” The film hopes to be Moulin Rouge meets Cabaret, with established songs that will be updated and worked into dance numbers. Cher makes her big screen return as Tess, the proprietor of the club, alongside Stanley Tucci. The film also stars a red-haired Julianne Hough, and a brunette Kristen Bell.
Antin wrote the script, which was later revised by Erin Brockovich scribe Susannah Grant. No mention is made of Diablo Cody’s screenplay involvement in the Variety story, which makes me wonder if any of her contributions have made it to the final draft. Antin has described neo-burlesque as “a contemporary take on the traditional burlesque that derived from vaudeville, with singing, dancing, comedy and more tease than striptease.” Antin’s sister Robin created the burlesque troupe The Pussycat Dolls in 1995. Watch some early footage and behind the scenes interviews from ET, after the jump.
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Dreamworks Pictures has released a new theatrical movie poster and two new video clips from Peter Jackson’s big screen adaptation of The Lovely Bones .
Based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed by Oscar® winner Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Jackson & Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens, “The Lovely Bones” centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. Oscar® nominee Mark Wahlberg and Oscar® winners Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon star along with Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Oscar® nominee Saoirse Ronan.
Watch the clips, and see the poster, ater the jump.
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Paramount Pictures has released a batch of new images previewing their fall film line-up: Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lovely Bones and Jason Reitman’s adaptation of Up in the Air. Yes, you have seen some of these photos previously, be it in an MTV Fall preview, Empire Magazine, but some of these are brand spanking new. Plus, all of the photos are high res (click to enlarge) and without pesky watermarks.
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Dreamworks Pictures has released the first trailer for Peter Jackson’s big screen adaptation of The Lovely Bones . The trailer will be attached to Julie & Julia, which hits theaters this Friday. But you can watch it on your small screen at home right now. The film looks beautifully shot and visually stunning. There are many hints of possible Award nominations, which may come year end. Stanley Tucci looks creepy, and Saoirse Ronan looks the exact opposite. Overall, I feel like the story is not an easy sell, and in an effort to get audiences excited, may have given a lot of the movie away. I haven’t read the book, so I could be completely wrong.
Update: I’ve been informed by Elisabeth Rappe that the trailer shows the first chapter and a “dash of the middle” with “some major twists in the book that aren’t even hinted at.” For those concerned that the mystery of whodunit is revealed in the trailer, it is revealed at the beginning of the story. The movie is not a whodunit mystery.
Watch the trailer now linked after the jump. And as always, leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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Entertainment Tonight will be premiering the first trailer for Peter Jackson’s big screen adaptation of The Lovely Bones on Tuesday, August 4th. The trailer will be attached to Julie & Julia, which hits theaters this Friday. On Monday, ET ran one of those 30-second first look sneak previews, complete with loud blabbering annoying voice over. If it wasn’t an anticipated film, I’d tell you to skip it, but I just got done watching it three times in a row.
The preview gives you a first look at the very surreal look of “heaven,” which doesn’t look much like the heaven we normally imagine. While at Comic-Con, I had the opportunity to see an extended trailer/promo reel that was put together for studio people and exhibitors. Unfortunately, I screened the trailer on the hectic first day of Comic Con, in-between seeing District 9 and running to a screening of Ninja Assassin, and really don’t remember much about it — other than the footage looked beautiful.
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Kid’s movie posters that command you to do something are next levs. Still, there’s not a chance in hell that Space Monkeys will reign supreme over 1987’s Project X as the top monkeys-in-flight-afternoon-delight movie of our times. Even with voice talent including Cheryl Hines, Jane Lynch, Kenan Thompson (did he start taking funnay pills?), Andy Samberg, and Stanley Tucci. Not happenin’.
This is not as funny as it could be, but a trivial animal cruelty controversy is brewing over Space Chimps on IMDB, if you want to squeeze one out or feign outrage.
Discuss: David Letterman’s question in Cabin Boy…
via Cinematical
Note: I’m not calling this a review, because truth is, I only saw the first 33 minutes of this movie.
Last year at Sundance I was kinda taken by Steve Buscemi’s Interview, the first of a series of American remakes of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh’s work. Theo, the great-great-grandson of Theo van Gogh, brother of the famous painter Vincent van Gogh, was killed by a Muslim extremist a few years ago in response to one of his controversial films. Beyond that and Interview last year, I don’t know much about Theo van Gogh, although I have planned to seek out his work. Directed by and starring Steve Buscemi, Interview was for the most part a one-location dialogue-heavy film featuring two actors. Blind Date is not much different. Instead of an apartment we have a bar, instead of a movie star we have a magician.
The film also features a director who also appears as the male lead, Stanley Tucci, opposite Patricia Clarkson, as a married couple who are struggling to reconnect after the death of their daughter. They pretend to go on a series of blind dates. I’m also a big fan of minimalist films like Hard Candy, so it came as such a surprise that I just couldn’t get into this film. I was bored. The whole thing seemed so theatrical (in the off-broadway sense), and was completely devoid of cinematic drama. After the first fifteen minutes went by, members of the press started to leave the theater like a flock of birds. I decided to leave around the 35 minute mark, which is a really tough decision, because that’s almost the half way mark (the film is only 80 minutes, although my 33 minutes felt like 100) and I usually like to see a return on my time investment. But I’ve been so busy at this year’s festival and there is just no time to finish a movie like this.
I have only walked out of five movies in my life, and four of them have been during my five-years at Sundance. Idon’t mean to say that Sundance movies are bad, as for the most part the level of film at the festival far succeeds the selection at your normal multiplex. The fact of the matter is, there are so many great movies playing at this festival, and time is limited. If I’m watching a horrible movie at my local AMC, I’m far more likely to stay until the credits hit, just to see the conclusion. At Sundance, there are always 5 other (in this case probably better) movies you could be watching.
Paramount Pictures has announced domestic release dates for Peter Jackson’s next film and the upcoming live-action G.I. Joe feature film, and Fox has set a date for Marley and Me. Let’s take a look into the future, so get out your calendars.
Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s best selling novel The Lovely Bones will hit theaters on March 13th 2009. The Lovely Bones is the story of a 14-year-old girl from suburban Pennsylvania who is murdered by her neighbor. She tells the story from Heaven, showing the lives of the people around her and how they have changed all while attempting to get someone to find her lost body. Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci star. The movie is currently in production.
Stephen Sommers’ live-action big budget G.I. Joe movie gets a late Summer 2009 date: August 7th 2009. No casting announcements have been made. Tony Scott’s adaptation of The Taking of Pelham 123, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, is also scheduled for the same release date.
It is also worth noting that Fox2000’s adaptation of Marley and Me has been scheduled for a December 19th 2008 release. Based on the memoir by John Grogan, Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson star in the story of a family that learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.
source: BOM
