Posted on Friday, July 29th, 2011 by Russ Fischer
Earlier this year, some personal issue caused the actor Rob Zazinsky to drop out of Peter Jackson’s two Hobbit films. But things are looking up, and slightly ironic to boot, because he’s now cast in former Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro‘s new film, Pacific Rim. And if things go well, he’ll be joined by Willem Dafoe, too. Read More »
Posted on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 by Russ Fischer
Our first word on The Hunter came late last year when we learned that Daniel Nettheim would direct Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor and more in an adaptation of Julia Leigh‘s novel of the same name. Willem Dafoe plays a character who claims to be on the hunt for one thing, but is in reality working for a larger entity and seeks a more specific game: the last Tasmanian tiger.
Now there is a little bit of extra weight behind the project, as Julia Leigh has emerged as the director of the unusual Cannes entry Sleeping Beauty, featuring Emily Browning as a very specific sort of prostitute. Julia Leigh, as best I know, had nothing to do with this adaption of her novel, but the fact that this novel is from her pen certainly adds a layer of interest to The Hunter for me.
The Hunter has been announced as a Toronto Film Festival entry, and a teaser trailer is now available. Check it out below. Read More »
One of the biggest question marks on the 2012 tentpole schedule is Disney’s John Carter, formerly John Carter of Mars. Pixar’s Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Wall-E) directs the live-action film that adapts A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Now that we’re able to see some footage, it appears that he has done so with a sense of grand, old-school fantasy/sci-fi epics. I had no idea what to expect out of this, and so far, I’m impressed.
Check out the trailer for the film, after the break. Read More »
In June, I visited the editing room of John Carter, the big screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic sci-fi novel A Princess of Mars (you can watch my video blog here). At the event, director Andrew Stanton and producer Jim Morris gave a presentation explaining how they came to be involved with the project, and described the unique process they took to “shoot” the adaptation. After the jump you will find a complete transcript of the presentation and question and answer session, along with some concept art from the film and photos from the event.
On June 20th, I flew to San Francisco to visit Barsoom Studios, in an office building minutes sown the road from Pixar Animation Studios, to see the first footage from John Carter, a big screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic sci-fi novel A Princess of Mars.
In a screening room, Finding Nemo/Wall-E director Andrew Stanton gave us a powerpoint presentation explaining why and how he became involved in the project, and the unique methods they used to “shoot” the film (you can read a transcript of Andrew’s complete presentation and Q&A elsewhere on /Film). We screened a couple scenes from the movie, and the teaser trailer which will be attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (expect to see it online on Thursday, July 14th).
After the jump you can read my brief thoughts, followed by a video blog I recorded with Frosty from Collider (who admits he knows nothing about the source material) and Eric Vespe (better known as Quint from Ain’t It Cool, who knows way way way more than I will ever know about the source material). So we have a good spread of opinions based on a wide range of expectations and knowledge of the source material.
Posted on Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 by Russ Fischer
Topher Grace has joined the cast of Gently Down the Stream, which already has some prominent actors on board: Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl and Amanda Seyfried. Justin Zackham wrote and will direct the story of a slightly awkward family romance. Specifically, De Niro and Keaton are a couple and father to Topher Grace’s character. But he’s also got an adopted brother, and that guy has a sister, and Topher Grace falls for her. Oops. [Deadline]
After the break, 50 Cent gets his best role ever, and the indie thriller Magic, Magic lands three young actresses. Read More »
Posted on Sunday, May 15th, 2011 by Russ Fischer
Some few years ago the Coen Brothers scripted a remake of the ’60s romantic caper comedy Gambit (originally starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine) and the remake is finally shooting now under the direction of Michael Hoffman (The Last Station). Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz star in the key roles, and Stanley Tucci and Cloris Leachman have joined Alan Rickman and Tom Courtenay in the supporting cast. The first image of the leads is out now, and you can see a larger version after the break.
Also lurking below the jump is the first image from Abel Ferrara‘s new film, 4:44 Last Day on Earth, which stars Willem Dafoe. Neither of these images are quite earth-shaking, but they’re minor teases of what is to come. Read More »
One of the most unappealing film projects being assembled right now is the comedy version of the baby-birthing manual What to Expect When You’re Expecting. The book is frequently called out as being alarmist and a poor lesson plan for expectant mothers, but why not use the very recognizable title (recognizable to the target audience, at least) to sell a movie? Not much different from what’s happening with Akira, really.
Cameron Diaz is now looking like the lead for this particular movie, which Kirk Jones will direct from a swcript by Heather Hach and Shauna Cross. The picture is meant as a Love Actually-style film in which five couples experience the joy and surprises of impending parenthood. The film will hit on Mother’s Day weekend next year — in other words, a year from today. [Deadline]
After the break, Kelly Preston becomes a mob wife and Willem Dafoe is in a mystery movie directed by Abel Ferrara. Read More »
