Posted on Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 by Angie Han
It feels like James Franco is attached to pretty much everything these days, but now there’s one less Franco project we have to look forward to. According to JustJared.com, the star has pulled out of The Iceman, a biopic of Mafia hitman Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski. Franco was lined up to play Robert “Mr. Softee” Pronge, the “mentor assassin” to Kuklinski (Michael Shannon); Ray Liotta and Maggie Gyllenhaal were also set to star in the picture, by director Ariel Vroman. However, with Franco gone, “it looks like this project might fall apart,” a source told the site.
Details of Franco’s exit have not been revealed, although the same source blames “key contractual issues that didn’t involve financial terms.” The rest of the cast sounds too interesting to waste, so I’m hoping the movie can still come together out even without Franco’s involvement. If not, well, there’s always The Ice Man, the competing project starring Mickey Rourke. [Cinema Blend]
After the jump, Franco’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes co-star Tom Felton gets to play a good guy for once, and Ruben Fleischer is still adding people to the cast of Gangster Squad.
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Andy Serkis’ work in Rise of the Planet of the Apes locks his position amongst legendary ‘monster’ actors such as Lon Chaney, Sr, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Boris Karloff. That might not seem to be the greatest compliment at first; that roster of actors shouldn’t be marginalized so. I think all would bristle at being considered as performers we take seriously only when they work behind makeup and prosthetics or their digital equivalents.
The fact, however, is that Andy Serkis’ best work has been done in conjunction with groundbreaking washes of pixels. Beginning with his portrayal of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, continuing on through Peter Jackson’s King Kong and now culminating with Caesar, the ape at the center of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the partnership between the actor and effects house WETA has done far more than most to advance the idea of what the nature of screen acting really is.
Serkis and WETA lend Caesar a moving depth of personality that goes beyond the bounds we’re accustomed to seeing in non-human characters. And, as many of his interactions with the other simian characters are necessarily devoid of dialogue, the film displays a spirit that cuts closer to pure cinema than I expect from the seventh film in the 40-year old franchise. Read More »
What happens when a studio dedicates a decade to adapting one of the most popular novel series in the world, and does so with an eye for quality? In the case of Harry Potter, the result is a massive payoff. Warner Bros. upset its own record for the biggest domestic opening weekend box office take, set by The Dark Knight in 2008, as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 opened to a $168.5 million domestic haul and earned nearly half a billion dollars worldwide. Read the numbers below. Read More »
We just saw a new commercial for Rise of the Planet of the Apes that had a lot of new footage, but that 60-second piece was pulled from YouTube fairly quick. Now there is a UK trailer that has a lot of the same footage, and more. Beware: you’ll walk away from this feeling like you’ve seen way too much of the movie. Check it out after the break, if that isn’t a problem. Read More »
While the two previously released trailers for Rise of the Planet of the Apes have focused more on action, this brand new 60 second TV spot finally strays from that. In the film, James Franco plays Will, a scientist who develops a drug intended to cure his father (John Lithgow) of Alzheimer’s disease. Will also discovers that the drug increases the intelligence of an ape named Caesar (Andy Serkis) and decides to bring him home. This 60-second clip focuses more on that family aspect, gives us our first real good look at Tom Felton‘s character and then, of course, kicks up the action. From what I know about Rise, this 60 second look is the best representation of the film yet, both in its tone, structure and percentage of action. Check out the new-footage-filled clip after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Monday, June 6th, 2011 by Angie Han
We can thank the MTV Movie Awards for the bounty of new videos today — in addition to that new Breaking Dawn trailer, which I’m sure you all loved, we also have brand-new clips from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and The Help. See them all after the jump.
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20th Century Fox has released a second movie trailer for Rupert Wyatt‘s Rise of the Planet of the Apes., starring James Franco, Andy Serkis, Frida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, and Tom Felton. The film is a prequel/reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise which takes place in present day with a science fact-like take on how animal testing leads to the end of the human race, and yes, the rise of the apes. The new trailer is more plot driven, concentrating on the animal testing set-up and the… rise of the apes. I’m a little bit worried that these trailers are overselling the third act action revolt, which much of the film comes from the set-up. But its looking good. Watch the trailer embedded after the jump. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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Posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 by Angie Han
Last week, we showed you two new posters for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 — one featuring a roughed-up Harry and another showing a concerned-looking Hermione. Since then, Warner Bros. has released five more character posters, for Ron (Rupert Grint), Neville (Matthew Lewis), Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), Draco (Tom Felton) and Snape (Alan Rickman). Check out the images after the jump.
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