Variety is reporting that Josh Brolin & Jeffrey Wright's attorney has said that both actors have been cleared of charges filed related to a barfight that occurred last July during filming in Shreveport, Louisiana for Oliver Stone's "W.". The specific charges had the two interfering with police officers as they all tried to break up an altercation with a 'W.' crew member.
BUT while the actors' charges have been dropped, is there a possibility of charges filed against the police? Those squeak-clean bastions of journalism over at TMZ.com have posted video from the crappiest cell phone camera ever of Brolin and Wright being arrested. Brolin's kneeling most of the time (the video is only worth watching just before the :30 mark) and being cuffed, and if the camera's operator is to be believed, Wright is the gentleman on the asphalt who was being TASERED MULTIPLE TIMES. We couldn't definitively see the tasering happening (it's not a very visible action to begin with), but we've included the video below for you to make the call. See for yourself.
1/07/2009
Brolin & Wright Cleared of 'W. Barfight Charges, Video of Arrest & Tasering?
McG Tackling 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
According to Variety, mono-monikered filmmaker McG is set to direct a prequel/update of Disney's 1954 live-action debut, entitled "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo." 'Leagues' looks to be McG's next film to hit theaters after this summer's "Terminator: Salvation," as Disney's putting a rush on production, starting this year. The new script was written by Bill Marsilli and McG will co-produce with Sean Bailey, who is also producing the new "Tron" movie (whatever it ends up being named) for "The Mouse House".
The new 'Leagues' film will be an origin story for main character Captain Nemo (previously played by James Mason) and will also heavily entail the construction of his ship, the Nautilus.
With their "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise either done or mulling an unnecessary fourth film, Disney ought to be counting their blessings that they had a nautically-themed film, complete with a climactic battle with a giant squid, set for a redux. It's only a matter of time before they roll out remakes of "The Black Hole" or anything from their limitless cache of Kurt Russell films.
Mickey Rourke Suits Up For Villain Role In 'Iron Man 2'; Sam Rockwell In Negotiations To Play Another Bad Dude
Wow, Mickey Rourke is lining up work like he's going out of style; like he has a family to feed; like he's on a death watch with only six months to live. Some of it is could be terrible (see the Stallone picture with a bunch of other deadweight goombah's), but this breaking news that the comeback kid actor will become part of the Jon Favreau, "Iron Man" milieu is pretty huge.
According to Variety, Rourke has signed on for a role in "Iron Man 2" as one of the film's villains. Apparently he's going to play Tony Stark's "alter ego, a heavily tattooed bruiser who is in the arms trade and battles Iron Man in his own nuclear-powered armored suit."
Apparently that's a character called, Crimson Dynamo, according to some speculation (we honestly have no clue, we were never a big fan of that particular comic - when we were 9). Sam Rockwell is apparently also in negotiations to play a badguy too. Guess this means Robert Downey Jr. will be facing off against multiple foes and all of that is fine, we just demand one thing from Favreau and Justin Theroux: make the film as entertaining and fun as "Iron Man" one and we'll have no beef. Shooting on "Iron Man 2" is set to begin in the spring, better hope that script is ready!
To The Death! Fox And Warners Won't Settle; Will Let The Judge Decide If Fox Can Block 'Watchmen' Release Date
Damn, it's like all or nothing and like parties already claimed, they'll be no settlement.
Lawyers for both 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. have agreed to let the federal judge rule on their copyright dispute and whether WB will be allowed to /whether Fox can block the release of "Watchmen" in the spring or not according to the L.A. Times.
This means they will forgo a trial and that means it's all in U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess' hands - who geeks know by name now (soon they'll know his address too).
"In court papers filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, attorneys for Fox and Warner Bros. jointly said they would let the judge decide Jan. 20 whether Fox could block the film's theatrical distribution, now scheduled for March 6, as Fox has been seeking all along as part of its copyright infringement lawsuit against Warner Bros."Feess already ruled on Christmas eve that Fox, not Warner Bros. owned the right to distribute the film, so this feels like a little bit like Russian roulette on the part of the WB and furthermore this could seriously delay the film which nerds will FREAK over, like teenage breakdown, ugly cry, tantrum, etc. etc.
On December 30, Warner's was confident, despite that ruling not in their favor that things would go their way and despite that the judge urged them all to settle. "We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the court's ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options. We continue to believe that Fox's claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals," they wrote a the time.
Man, they could be eating their words and if they feel like Warner's could have settled they're going to be MAD at everyone involved. Woo! This whole debacle is kind of fun to watch. BTW, D-Day for this Watchmen decision is on January 20, mark your calendars.
Writers Guild Nominations Announced: 'Dark Knight's Oscar Chances Get Better And Better
Read it and weep and while you're at it, cue the Dark Knight Party. We're not surprised to see Rob Siegel's "The Wrestler" script get nominated nor are we surprised to see that Charlie Kaufman did not receive a nomination for "Synecdoche, New York," like we assumed he wouldn't. Dustin Lance Black scoring a nom for "Milk" is no shocker either. We're a little surprised to see that "Rachel Getting Married" didn't receive a nomination simply because that screenplay has earned a lot of awards love, but it's no skin off our back. We certainly weren't in the tank for it.
We are however, pretty taken aback that "The Dark Knight" script credited to Jonathan & Christopher Nolan (though apparently lots of other contributed too) scored a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. Not that it isn't deserving (plot holes and flawed logic aside), it's just that we weren't expecting it. It's also nice to see Simon Beaufoy, Peter Morgan and John Patrick Shanley get their due (boo to Eric Roth and that overlong bore).
Lastly, how in hell do you not nominate "Man On Wire," for Best Documentary Screenplay? 'Gonzo' was terrible.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Burn After Reading - Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Milk - Written by Dustin Lance Black
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Written by Woody Allen
The Visitor - Written by Tom McCarthy
The Wrestler - Written by Robert Siegel
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Screenplay by Eric Roth
The Dark Knight - Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan
Doubt - Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon - Screenplay by Peter Morgan
Slumdog Millionaire - Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story - Written by Stefan Forbes & Noland Walker
Chicago 10 - Written by Brett Morgen
Fuel - Written by Johnny O'Hara
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - Screenplay by Alex Gibney
Waltz with Bashir - Written by Ari Folman
BAFTA Longlist Relased: 'Benjamin Button,' 'Frost/Nixon' Lead Nominations
The British Academy Film Awards released their longlist for the top films of 2008, and Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon" and David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" came out of top, with 14 nominations each.
While some Oscar contending films were buried in nominations, others went a little under the radar. Such as Darren Aronofsky's minimalistic "The Wrestler" which got a respectable nine, while "I've Loved You So Long" came away with only five, while being out performed by arguably inferior films. The longlist include 15 contenders in each category, which will later be downsized to five after the first round of voting. The entire longlist
'Anvil!' Book Coming Out March 12 In The U.K.
Speaking of Anvil, the underachieving Canadian heavy metal band and the amazing documentary about their band's uphill career, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil," which comes out April 10 in the U.S. in limited release, the book is coming out too. It's an autobiography and it's written by the two founding members and childhood friends, Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner.
Directed by Sacha Gervasi, these two guys are such unbelievable characters, during the filming of the movie one of the cameramen actually pulled Gervasi aside and asked him quietly, "Look, you can tell me, I won't say, but these guys are actually paid actors, no?" God, that anecdote (which Gervasi told us at BAM in Brooklyn after a screening mid last year), always cracks us up.
It's already available for pre-order in the U.K. and comes out via Bantam Press on March 12.
Here's the synopsis:At fourteen, Toronto school friends Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. Forming their band 'Anvil' they went on to become the 'demi-gods of Canadian metal', releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982's "Metal on Metal". The album influenced a musical generation including the world-dominating bands Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, all of whom went on to sell millions of records. Anvil's career would take a different path, however, as they slipped straight into obscurity...Almost thirty years later Lips and Robb, our unlikely musical heroes, are still chasing their dream."Anvil! The Story of Anvil", their autobiography, follows the ups and down of their career and their volatile friendship (which has now spanned almost four decades), reveals their dedication and unadulterated passion for their music, and carries us along on their last-ditch quest for fame and fortune. Based on Sacha Gervasi's award-winning film of the same name, and published to coincide with its worldwide release, this hilarious yet poignant book reminds us that if you believe in yourself, stick by your friends and never give up, you really can make your dreams come true. You cannot fail to be moved by this story. Anvil rock!
The U.S. release date will be announced next week and should coincide with the April 10 theatrical release. Someone send us a copy, we can't wait to read it. The documentary has already won a heap of praise and has won the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June of 2008.
Carlos Reygadas Talks 'Silent Light'
"Silent Light" is an stunning piece of work, seriously. It's breathtaking. It reminds us of Terrence Malick's graceful work in "Days of Heaven." Years from now we're going to look back and kick ourselves for not putting it higher on our (my) Top 2008 list (even New York critics screened it in the third week of December so in the interest of fairness and not top-loading our picks with recent, year-end picks, we only put it as low or high, as we could).
Did we mention Martin Scorsese has endorsed the film, saying he was " amazed by SILENT LIGHT – the setting, the language, the delicacy of the interactions between the people on screen, the drama of redemption. And most of all by Carlos Reygadas’s ["Battle in Heaven," "Japón"] extraordinarily rich sense of cinema, evident in every frame. A surprising picture, and a very moving one as well.”
How well said. There's a knowing-ness, a serene sense of calm and an almost eerie, hand-of-god touch to his quietly and silently moving camera - it's otherworldly. We find it sometimes hard to articulate what was so gripping about the film we feel so overwhelmed by it at times.
But we wrote around the holidays, "Centering on a a very devout Mennonite facing a spiritual and moral crisis in the form of wanton adultery, Reygada's marvelous 'Light' is easily the most aptly titled film of the year as it is wholly characterized by a gorgeous natural light that blankets the film like a godly sheen and a disquieting silence that pervades and acts as the soundtrack to the characters tortured inner thoughts and dramas."
The Village Voice's Scott Foundas caught up with Reygadas this week as the film opened up in New York and he also notes that film, aside from even the subject matter, has a very "spiritual" feel. It's kind of incredible to note that Reygadas is only 37-years-old. He directs like he's a seasoned pro.
Here's an excerpt from the interview, but you should read the full thing and definitely move mountains and go out of your way to see it.
It could be said that all of your films are stories of men who find themselves torn between what they believe, or have been taught to believe, and what they feel inside. What is it about this tension that interests you?
"I think we live in tension, and of course the essence of happiness is trying to bring that tension to a minimum. But that particular tension that you have described is exactly the one I have felt in my own life, and although I think I've come to terms with it in a rather acceptable way, still, it is there. Feeling, and what we think is right— what our values are — are very often divorced. Or they overlap in some ways and not in others."
For Your Consideration, Academy
Maybe our feeling will change, but right now, we're not really feeling very excited for the Oscars or the nominations. Dunno, maybe it's because we feel this year like an abundant amount of deserving films are going to get honored and awarded and it just feels too... locked in and predictable.
At the same time, if we had to lay money down on the technical sub-categories right now, we'd probably lose our shirts. As it stands right now, our hear isn't in it and we haven't been paying as close attention as we should. Last year with fantastic films like "There Will Be Blood" and "No Country For Old Men" in the running and something amazing like "The Diving Bell And The Buttefly" earning a PGA nod, a lot of great things seemed possible. It felt exciting Now it all seems... predestined, in an extremely boring manner and we're having a hard time getting excited over any of it or any of the films (last year 'Blood' and 'Country' were our #1 and #2 picks for 2008).
You never know, you might see our enthusiasm for awards season grow, but with mediocre and boring films like, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (yeah, you heard us right) looking to dominate the field, we might just check out and look forward to 2009, we'll see.
Last week the New York Times did their, For Your Consideration, Academy piece, where their critics offered their own nominations for the year's best, so we'll do the same. We will note though these are the picks of the ed [ed. me] and others may vary and very-well post their own picks as well. The Times seemed to nominate films regardless if they were foreign or not and without regard to Academy rules, so we'll try and take that tact as well (within reason)."Reprise" for example is technically so old (it came out internationally in 2006 and 2007) and we should leave it off our list, but we can't. To be clear: this is not who we think will get nominated at all. This is our, for your consideration to the Academy, offering our own noms. This is also just off the top of our head too, this could change tomorrow, but this is how we feel, this moment.
BEST PICTURE
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"Silent Light"
"Doubt"
"Reprise"
"Che"
BEST ACTOR
Benicio del Toro - "Che"
Sean Penn - "Milk"
Mickey Rourke - "The Wrestler"
Michael J. Smith Sr. - "Ballast"
Habib Boufares "The Secret of the Grain"
BEST DIRECTOR
Steven Soderbergh - "Che"
Fatih Akin - "The Edge of Heaven"
Cristian Mungiu - "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
Laurent Cantet - "The Class"
Lucrecia Martel - "The Headless Woman"
BEST ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins - "Happy Go Lucky"
Michelle Williams - "Wendy & Lucy"
Kristin Scott Thomas - "I've Loved You So Long"
Melissa Leo - "Frozen River"
Anamaria Marinca - "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
(we once went to bat for Kate Beckinsale in "Nothing But The Truth," but that was before we saw "Doubt" and Meryl Streep is a shoo-in, so no need to give her more props here, but she was amazing)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Eddie Marsan - "Happy Go Lucky"
Michael Shannon - "Revolutionary Road"
Damian Bechir - "Che"
Melvil Poupaud - "A Christmas Tale"
Heath Ledger - "The Dark Knight"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Vera Farmiga - "Nothing But The Truth"
Penélope Cruz - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Rosemarie DeWitt - "Rachel Getting Married"
Elsa Zylberstein - "I've Loved You So Long"
Chiara Mastroianni - "A Christmas Tale"
We're running out of gas and ethusiasm here so we'll leave off writing for now. I'll have to be something we put some thought into first and we haven't. For those wondering why our Best Picture pics don't line up exactly with our Best Picks of 2008, we'll they're different and Best lists are always a combination of what you think the Best films of the year are and your Favorite films of the year and there's a distinction to be made there, but if you have to ask...
2009 Razzie Nominations Include 'Indy 4,' M. Night Shyamalan And Tom Cruise
For the year of 2008, the annual awards for the worst movies of the year, Razzies, may be more competitive than the Oscars, due to the absurd shit to quality ratio we have been forced to endured over the last 12 months. The selection committee have sent out their ballots to selected voters which include the nominations for the worst movies of 2008. Nominees range from George Lucas' miscarriage "Indiana Jones 4" [ed. ha!], Paris Hilton for any of her on-screen performances and a directorial nod to M. Night Shyamalan for his job phoning in "The Happening" (Shyamalan is most likely convinced the nomination is a typo). This full list of humiliated talent is listed below, we personally think it's great "Speed Racer" got a nod, see our Worst Films of 2008 piece.
Worst Picture:
Speed Racer, Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans, The Day the Earth Stood Still, High School Musical 3, The Hottie & The Nottie, Dungeon Siege, The Love Guru, Postal, Rambo, The Happening, Meet Dave, Witless Protection
Worst Actor:
Zac Efron, Dane Cook, Larry the Cable Guy, Eddie Murphy, Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise (Valkyrie), Will Ferrell, Ashton Kutcher, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Mark Wahlberg
Worst Actress:
Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, The cast of “The Women,” Camilla Belle, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Diane Keaton, Jennifer Connelly, Zooey Deschanel, Vanessa Hudgens, Eva Longoria-Parker, Reese Witherspoon
Worst Screen Couple:
Any couple from HSM 3, Cameron Diaz & Ashton Kutcher, Paris Hilton & Joel David Moore, Kate Hudson & Dane Cook, Kate Hudson & Matthew McConaughey, Larry the Cable Guy & Jenny McCarthy, Any couple from Mamma Mia, Eddie Murphy & Eddie Murphy (Meet Dave), Al Pacino & His Hair, Mark Wahlberg & Zooey Deschanel, Mark Wahlberg & Mila Kunis, Sylvester Stallone & His Ego
Worst Director:
Uwe Boll, Scott Derrickson, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Tom Putnam, Marco Schnabel, Sylvester Stallone, Jon Avnet, Diane English, Roland Emmerich, Brian Robbins, Kenny Ortega, M. Night Shyamalan
Worst Prequel, Sequel, Remake or Rip-Off:
Indiana Jones 4, HSM 3, Rambo, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, An American Carol, The Women, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Prom Night, Speed Racer, X-Files: I Want To Believe
Worst Career Achievement:
Uwe Boll, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Madonna, Keanu Reeves, Sylvester Stallone
'Twilight' Geek Might Be Able To Keep His 'New Moon' Job Afterall
Remember how "Twilight" tweens were in hysterical, red-faced tizzy because actor Taylor Lautner was apparently too "baby-faced" to play the role of the big, bad werewolf Jacob in the sequel "New Moon" now being directed by safe, paint-by-numbers filmmaker Chris Weitz?
Well, maybe all the negative buzz and hurt feelings over Catherine Hardwicke's unceremonious shit-canning has made Summit Entertainment tread lightly (or lighter) with the the obsessive fans of the hokey goth-romance books, because now it sounds like Lautner may have kept the gig.
According to EW, Summit is expected to announce its decision for the next Stephenie Meyer's-based film and there's probably a spot for Lautner, who has likely been on 'roids and pumping iron like mad these past few weeks just in case (he also probably called every special effects house in California asking, "Can you make me look meaner and bigger?').
Ha, pretty much. EW says he's already packed on 19 lbs and hopes to pack on 10 more (hello, eating and workout binge!).
Apparently in the second book, the character of Jacob is practically a different person. ''Jacob is a totally different character in New Moon,'' Melissa Rosenberg, screenwriter of both Twilight films told EW. ''He's a foot taller and huge — and he's supposed to look 25. It's really a question of whether or not the same actor can play the role.'' Rosenberg is quick to add, however, that ''everyone would love to keep him. We all think he's the loveliest person ever.''
In short EW says it "appears likely" the kid will get the green-light. Congratulations? These movies can't go away fast enough.
L.A. Courts To Roman Polanski: If You Want The Case Dismissed, You'll Have To Surrender First
Yesterday we noted how exiled Polish director Roman Polanski asked for his case to return to the United States to be moved out of Los Angeles because he and his lawyers basically feel the L.A. courts are prejudiced against him.
But the L.A. courts are standing firm and they're saying if he truly wants the case against him dismissed he has one option: surrender first.
According to the NYTimes.
"In a court filing responding to the request, prosecutors on Tuesday argued that Mr. Polanski, who lives in Paris and is now 75, was barred from seeking dismissal by his fugitive status, and should surrender to the court for sentencing before any questions about his case could be addressed."Hmm, it's a game of cat and mouse and if Polanski even thinks for a second that this is some kind of ploy to incarcerate him, he won't do it. Polanski fled the U.S. in 1977 after he was charged with statutory rape and was convinced he could not receive a fair trial. There was a lot of prosecutorial and judicial wrongdoing in the case and much of it was revealed in Marina Zenovich's documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," which has been so convincing and so strong, it's basically the reason why Polanski himself thinks he has a shot at having his case dismissed.
Another reason why he might not surrender? He has no interest in returning to the United States, he just wants his name cleared, so it might not be worth the risk to the director who won an Academy Award for "The Pianist" in 2002
PS. If you've never seen his older work, do yourself a favor and rent it all. "The Tenant," "Repulsion," and "Knife in the Water" are amazing and some of our favorite films (you've probably seen the equally incredible, "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" we assume and hope). But please don't think because we're endorsing Polanski's art, we're condoning his actions. The two are mutually exclusive, but we suppose we can understand how someone might think the opposite. We didn't mean to sound so glib.
The American Society Of Cinematographer Guild Release Their 5 Nominees
Probably our favorite technical category in film, the American Society of Cinematographers have announced their list of nominees for the films of 2008. Normally we do some kind of preview piece to predict who we think will be on the list and who we think should be on the list. There's no major surprises to us, though we wouldn't have bet on 'Slumdog.' We already shouted out the great Roger Deakins' work in both "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road" (last year he was nominated for two cinematography awards in the same lensing category, but lost out to Robert Elswit for "There Will Be Blood") and the rest seem pretty obvious.
Here's the five they picked:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Claudio Miranda)
“The Dark Knight” (Wally Pfister)
“The Reader” (Roger Deakins and Chris Menges)
“Revolutionary Road” (Roger Deakins)
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Anthony Dod Mantle)
The two "snubs"? We really though Harris Savides' naturally light work in "Milk" was going to receive a nod and some of us (including us) thought Mandy Walker's work in "Australia" was going to receive a nod, but while they movie was a lush, spectacle it still underwhelmed for most. We wonder how Claudio Miranda will fare at the Oscars - remember his work is digital and Oscar can have that bias. He's only done one feature before 'Ben Button,' and used to be a camera and electrical guy for Fincher's earlier films like "Fight Club."
Digital photography is growing leaps and bounds and we'd bet Oscar can't deny it any further. He's sure to get a nomination. What's the story with two people listed on "The Reader"? Apparently Roger Deakins started it, but then production was stalled and Chris Menges has to take over. We must say, the two looks are seamless. We didn't care for the film, but you'll recall we did love the truly understated and beautiful photography of the film, that and the score by Nico Muhly were the only things we really liked about it (watch for Mulhaly to get a score Oscar nom too).
Finally! 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' Trailer Arrives; Film Hits April 10
It wasn't on our Most Anticipated of 2009 list, but that's because we've already seen it and hell, we put it on our Best Films of 2008 list, but finally after months of waiting the first official trailer for Sacha Gervasi's superb documentary, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" has arrived.
And as we reported in November, the film is coming out in April of this year and now we're happy to report that it has a concrete release date of April 10th. Update: we spoke to the director. He said the film will hit NY and L.A. in limited release on the 10th and then will start rolling out to twelve major cities afterwards. He said to expect more details next week.
The doc chronicles the seemingly washed-up Canadian 1980s heavy-metal rockers, Anvil (they had one hit in the eighties called, "Metal On Metal"), and the film is comical, tragic and emotionally awe-inspiring (Michael Moore called it, "The best documentary I've seen in years!"). 
We wrote, " The story of these lovable buffoons will make you pump devils horns in the sky, cringe with embarrassment, laugh and weep in celebration," it is seriously so good, even if you know squat about this band or don't care for heavy metal (that would be like saying you have to love professional wrestling to enjoy "The Wrestler"). Here's our full-blown review of the film that we saw in the spring, but it first premiered at Sundance 2008 and made a big splash with audiences. Everyone's calling the film a real-life "Spinal Tap," and that's good shorthand for viewers, but the film is so much more than that and is really a moving tale about brotherhood and perseverance; it's a beautiful thing at the end of the day, no joke.
The trailer (and movie) features glowing testimonials from fellow metal head like Guns N' Roses' Slash, Motorhead's Lemmy plus members of Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer. As we wrote about the music in the film (which is more than just metal)."Noted texturalist David Torn composed the moving Mogwai-like score (he also wrote the score to "The Wackness," among many other great scores like the recent "Lars And The Real Girl" one) and apart from featuring a shit-ton of Anvil songs, the film also features tracks from Explosions In The Sky, Air and Alice Cooper to name a few (but yes, it's all about Anvil at the end of the day). Thanks to the DailySwarm guys for the head's up, here's the brand new trailer, it fucking rules.
You've probably noticed that music docs have turned us off of late, cause they're so rote and by-the-numbers, but this flick is something to be especially proud of. If only all music documentaries could be this good. We can't wait to see the movie again. Before we forget, there's also a book-tie in that's coming out through Random House to coincide with the film's release in April. Someone please put us down for a copy too, it sounds like a must-read.
Political Nature Of Japanese 'Watchmen' Trailer Makes Us Giggle
The JFK assassination? A funny-looking (purposefully so?) Richard Nixon and a nice little nod to "Dr. Strangelove"? [ed. admittedly a nice touch] We can't tell if "Watchmen" is trying to be intentionally campy or just unintentionally funny. This new Japanese trailer for Zack Snyder's "Watchmen" shows all-new footage from the film with added emphasis on the current political crisis around the globe that's part of its milieu, but like we said, it sort of makes us giggle if it's meant to be taken dead seriously.
Mickey Rourke Is 'Expendable'
Mickey Rourke has joined the motley crue of washed-up actors or simply just lame actors, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Jet Li in Stallone's action romp, "The Expendables."
Everyone's calling it the poor man's "Inglourious Basterds," but that might be giving this lame B-movie in the making too much credit. Ok, so then why would Rourke, probably a soon-to-be Oscar nominated actor for amazing vulnerable and human turn in "The Wrestler," star in the piece of crap (which could be admittedly intensely entertaining crap)?
Loyalty. Rourke credits Stallone with helping him get his career back on track when he gave him a low-key role in "Get Carter" in 2000 (What about Robert Rodriguez and Vincent Gallo?). Mickey, how about just getting bombed together in Miami or taking his phone calls. A full role?
The good news is that he won't be playing one of the rag-tag good guys on Stallone's team and instead will portray, a dirty arms dealer who "becomes the go-to guy for a group of mercenaries planning to topple a South American dictator." There's your plot people, good luck. [Variety/Guardian]
M. Night Shyamalan's Non-Asian Casting For 'Airbender' Pisses Off Fans
Well, you can file this one under "Miss Saigon." Apparently Hollywood's uber-hack M. Night Shyamalan, who has been tapped to shovel the silver screen port of Nickelodeon's "The Last Airbender" into a theatre near you two summers from now, has managed to cast exactly zero Asian actors in his film. According to Entertainment Weekly, Shyamalan did his major casting in Texas, that bastion of Asian society. If this were a film about, perhaps, a border guard who sees ghosts in his swimming pool, this might not be a problem. Since, however, the film is an adaptation of a cartoon that deals heavily with Asian culture, fans seem to be a bit rankled.
David Fincher Continues To Win Over Academy Voters And Fans With Endearing Assholery
David Fincher is well on his way to snagging a statuette at this year's Academy Awards...assuming that his Win an Oscar Checklist looks something like this:
1/06/2009
GeekBeat: Simon Pegg & Nick Frost Cast in 'Tintin,' And More
It's official:
Simon Pegg & Nick Frost have been cast as Thomson & Thompson in the Steven Spielberg-helmed, Peter Jackson-produced 3D motion capture adaptation of the French comic strip, "Tintin". Andy Serkis has also been cast as Captain Haddock. The budget's on the low end ($135 million) of what you'd expect from a Spielberg/Jackson production. Expect 'Tintin' sometime next year, with a Jackson-directed sequel a couple of years after that.
[via AICN]
John August ("Go") has revealed on his blog that Warner Bros. has passed on his "Shazam!" script, citing a desire for more of that "The Dark Knight"-style edge that all of the kids are craving these days. If the possible studio interference hadn't killed it, it would've been something ugly not unlike "The Spirit". 'Shazam' might be interesting as an animated property, but it's better that it's not compromised.
Jimmy Hayward("Horton Hears A Who!") has been tapped as the new director for Jonah Hex, replacing Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who directed "Crank." If you haven't seen 'Crank', believe us when we say that this is a step up. (Though we're not that psyched about 'Hex' to begin with.)
[via THR]
Zack Snyder Thinks He Can Tackle Frank Miller's Classic, 'The Dark Knight Returns'
Zack Snyder may have filmed what many thought was an unfilmable graphic novel in "Watchmen." So what? Does that mean he's the kind of filmmaker capable of following up Christopher Nolan? Snyder seems to think so.
On iF Magazine, Snyder is quoted as saying, "...I’m interested in Frank Miller’s "The Dark Knight [Returns]"... However, the studio has this massive franchise and I don’t think they’ll let me make a Batman movie where he’s fifty years old and Ronald Reagan is president." No shit!
This line of thinking among mainstream U.S. filmmakers is so dangerous that it almost begs to be indulged by the remake-obsessed studio heads of the world (were it not for 'TDK's success). And the way he says it! "However...I don't think they'll let me..." After "The Dark Knight," the bar's been set too high for Snyder to treat any comic book material (or any adaptation, for that matter) like a cover song. It's a shame that the majority of fanboys seem to think that's the way to go - even after seeing how transcendent mere comic book characters can become in the right hands.
Snyder and his sycophants can have their "Watchmen," but hopefully they won't rest so easy knowing that calling something material "unfilmable" isn't a dare as much as a call to respect a story before plundering it in a ham-fisted manner for profit. Who are we kidding, though...
First Image From Judd Apatow's 'Funny People' Arrives
Here it is, your first official look (that's not the poster) of Judd Apatow's upcoming summer dramedy, "Funny People."
We've written about it enough, you know the gist; it's about a stand up comedian (Adam Sandler) who believes he's dying and then takes a younger comedian (Seth Rogen) under his wing out of loneliness/selfishness and then proceeds to meet up with the (married) love of his life (Leslie Mann), because he thinks this is his final shot. Anywhoo, here's a bigger version if you're curious.
Unless you're living under a rock, the film, which could easily be the most mature, grown-up and even melancholy film Apatow has ever made stars, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, RZA, Aubrey Plaza and Jason Schwartzman. It's set to open July 31.
First Look: The Informers
MovieGab has some early photos of the Gregor Jordan-directed adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' 1995 short story collection of rich and debaucherous characters set in early 80s Los Angeles. Fittingly, the cast isn't a small one. 'Informers' stars Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Bassinger, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Isaak, Rhys Ifans, and the late Brad Renfro in his final screen appearance. Ellis and Nicholas Jarecki co-adapted the screenplay.
'Informers' combines many elements of Ellis' more notable and cinematically adapted works: the ensemble effort of "Rules of Attraction," the comically twisted violence of "American Psycho," and the early 80s L.A. partying-and-drugs backdrop of "Less Than Zero Those who are familiar with Ellis' un-adapted work know that the similarities between all of the aforementioned stories does not stop there, lest we forget "Glamorama."
This would've made our Most Anticipated of 2009 list but the mid-May release date's shaky at best, and we'd hate to depress you right at the onset of summer with this recommendation. Kidding aside, the trailer shows that Jordan has Ellis' stylistic elements down pat, sparing no display of glamour, gluttony or impulsive bacchanalia.
'Informers' was shot in Los Angeles, Uraguay and Buenos Aires. Senator Entertainment is distributing.
Scripter Awards Nominees
The USC Scripter Award, which honors both the original script and adapted screenplays based on existing work has announced this year’s nominees, as follows:
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - Eric Roth
"Iron Man" (four writers, listed, ugh)
"The Reader" - David Hare
"Revolutionary Road" - Justin Haythe
"Slumdog Millionaire" - Simon Beaufoy
As AD notes, "The Scripter doesn’t often match up five for five at the Oscars but last year, the adapted screenplay nominees for the WGA matched the Scripter five for five." [AwardsDaily]
The Accent, Bro
Actors are funny people. This exchange between "Che"s Benicio del Toro and Vulture was printed today.
There's been some criticism about your accent in the movie. You speak in a Caribbean Spanish accent while Che Guevara had an Argentine one. Was there a reason you made that choice?
Where'd you read that?It was mentioned in the Variety review, among other places.
What do they know? He doesn't know Spanish. You should ask someone Cuban what my Spanish sounds like. Are you one of those people that believe what they read?No.
Well, then don't shoot it back at me, bro.
We're Spanish speaking, but we can't say we're experts in Argentinian accents, however, we heard from many Spanish-speaking friends that del Toro's accent wasn't all that great (not that it was terrible, matters much or effects the film; it is pretty solid, though whether he nails the Argentine accent itself, we personally can't really say) and in fact, the black-and-white scenes in the film were shot a year before principal photography and many noted to us how poor (in relation to the rest of the film) his accent was in those scenes (we did kind of notice it on the second viewing).
del Toro himself alluded to the this himself, telling Premiere they shot so fast, sometimes so furiously that they just did the best they could with lines and accents.
"We were going so fast, usually it was one or two takes. Most of it is [master shots]. So, with Steven you are not going to [say], 'You know, let's do it again because my 'S' is over here.' He'd go, 'I don't care!' "del Toro's just being defensive, but we just thought we'd come to the defensive of Vulture, especially considering this quote where the actor basically acknowledges the (small) problems himself.
Visual Effects Oscar Hopefuls Shortlisted; Make-Up Picks Contenders ShortListed Too
What does Brendan Fraser do twice as well as Batman, Iron Man or Brad Pitt? Star in movies making the shortlist for this year's Visual Effects Oscar.
"The Dark Knight," "Iron Man," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" all made the cut along with "Australia," "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," and Fraser's twin blockbusters "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." For those keeping score at home, three of the films are sequels and three are comic book adaptations.
Ultimately, only three films will be chosen by the members of the academy's visual-effects branch to become the final nominees. - Jared Weiss
Seven films shortlisted for the Make-up category are in as well. This category will get cut-down to three final nominations as well. David Fincher's film is a shoe-in too, even if some of the characters (Cate Blanchett) look unrealistic at times. When it comes to actors made up to look old the question isn't, "how realistic do they look?" It tends to be, "Do they look realistic enough?" I.e., can you suspend your disbelief and buy it enough? Generally, we never can and a lot of films that age actors drastically with make-up take us emotionally out of the story cause we don't buy it. Not always, mind you, but often. Taraj P. Henson as Queenie in the film age make-up is remarkably good, the rest of the 'Button' cast, not so much.
Oscar Make-Up Shortlist.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
“The Reader”
“Synecdoche, New York”
“Tropic Thunder”
“The Wrestler”
Looking For A Good Sundance Blogger
Unless a miracle happens; a cheap room and cheap flight open up, we're not going to Sundance 2009. C'est la vie.
But do you want to become part of the The Playlist team? A sure-fire way to ingratiate yourself is by becoming a Sundance blogger/correspondent for the week of January 15-25. The perks are great and our benefits package is out of this world too.
What would we want/need from you? Not that much actually, but some mini-reviews and or daily, what's going on stuff if possible/interesting. Easy to digest information that doesn't require a ton of information since Sundance and all film festivals can be incredibly hectic, we totally understand. Interested in field reporting? Yeah, you are. Email us.
Michael Penn Writing 'Sunshine Cleaning' Score
This "Sunshine Cleaning" (via Cinematical) poster is totally underwhelming and the film itself sort of looks like the twee, quirky indie flick we've been complaining about lately, only with female leads instead of emo boys, but call us crazy, but we loved the trailer and frankly, switching the genders makes this genre fresh-er. First off Amy Adams rules and Emily Blunt is rather great as well. Add Alan Arkin and Steve Vaughn to the mix and you have a great cast.
What's more the poster reveals that L.A. singer-songwriter Michael Penn (the husband of Aimee Mann) has written the score to the film. Penn recently composed the score to "American Teen," and he also worked with Paul Thomas Anderson a lot in his early career writing the scores to "Boogie Nights" and "Hard Eight." He also did the Zach Braff-starring film, "Last Kiss" (ok, that one's not so great, everyone needs a paycheck from time to time).
Synopsis: A thirty-something maid (Adams), is trying to create a better life for herself and eccentric eight-year-old son Oscar. Her burn-out younger sister Norah (Blunt) still lives at home with their father Joe (Arkin), who's on the latest of a life-long string of get-rich-quick schemes. When Rose learns of the big money to be made in the crime scene cleaning and bio-hazard removal business, she and Norah partner up to create their own company, "Sunshine Cleaning."
Either a bonus or a plus, depending on your perspective is that it's "produced by those that brought you 'Little Miss Sunshine.' " A so-so film that got nominated for an Oscar because the Academy wanted a glint of happiness in their otherwise dour Oscar-baity choices. The director is Christine Jeffs, who helmed the decent, "Sylvia" with Gwyneth Paltrow in 2003.Here's the trailer again for those that missed it. "Sunshine Cleaning" comes out in limited release March 13 via Overture Films.
More Best Of 2008 - Fataculture's Picks
Sometime Playlist contributor and pal Nick Plowman from the movies blog Fataculture has dropped his Top 10 list. We approve. Here's the entire thing in it's full glory. The truncated, Playlist version is below.
10. “Synecdoche, New York“ by Charlie Kaufman - “[It's] part of a whole career of otherworldly, unconventional tales pushes the boundaries of cinematic exploration of life, death and the in-between, is brought to life by a pitch-perfect cast, featuring an unmatched female ensemble and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Kaufman’s personal vessel through which his nervous pontifications seem profound. At the very least, there is a heartbreaking sensitivity to “Synecdoche,” a cold, detached film that takes time to warm up to – but once one does, the rewards are rather surprising.
9. “Wendy and Lucy“ by Kelly Reichardt- "In 80 minutes, the director paints a personal portrait of a lost woman with nothing to her name and no one in her life to so much as call out her name to her, as well as a scathing indictment of the flaws of society’s governance".
8. “Slumdog Millionaire“ by Danny Boyle - "Darting around the streets and slums of India with the most blistering, kaleidoscopic intensity imaginable, his latest ode to love, life and destiny is breathless and relentlessly hopeful despite being rooted in the company of some truly horrendous occurrences."
7. “Happy-Go-Lucky“ by Mike Leigh - "Centered on an upbeat, sunny side up Poppy, played to nuanced perfection by Sally Hawkins, Leigh illuminates the volatility and unhappiness of society through the interaction and counteraction of Poppy against the rest of the world, or at least her world."
6. “WALL-E“ by Andrew Stanton -"It is in a humanless, barren landscape that the single most effective take on the effects of human negligence on our Earth occurs. Without a word spoken, our entire existence as a thoughtless species is satirized by a robot. It’s otherworldly and if I may say so, something of a masterpiece."
5. “Revolutionary Road“ by Sam Mendes - "[The picture] is about a failed marriage, a failed man, a wife who believes her husband’s failure is of her own doing - it has absolutely nothing to do with the suburbs at all, or any physical setting in fact, but rather the motivations and lack thereof that lie deep within."
4. “Reprise“ by Joachim Trier - "Superficially, both “Reprise” and “Synecdoche” are directorial debuts that hinge on the idea of the tortured artist – both writers – and both deal with a certain level of mental instability. However, to me “Reprise” is more genuine in its explorations, almost gravely tender, whilst “Synecdoche” poses its surrealist neurotic contemplations on life in a more comic manner, placing the former in a more immediately affecting light."
3. “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days“ by Cristian Mungiu - "The rich tapestry of interwoven conjurations of Communist oppression framed around an illegal abortion goes to brutal, ferocious places few films dare to, but what is more, the filmmaker manages to maintain a neutral stance throughout and never loses site of his vivid human characters that give the otherwise chillingly cold film dynamism, adding yet another layer of riveting potency."
2. “The Wrestler“ by Darren Aronofsky - "Aronofsky’s hanging up of his surrealist gloves in favor of a small-scoped, emotional drama is his most ambitious move yet. It’s a character study in every sense of the word, and packs quite the emotional punch because of its compassionate, tender and taught focus, elevated by world-class performances."
Roman Polankski Says California Court Is Prejudiced; Wants Case Moved Out L.A.
At the beginning of December, Roman Polanski's bid to return to the U.S. seemed possible. Citing judicial and prosecutorial wrongdoing revealed in Marina Zenovich's documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," Polanski's U.S. lawyers filed a complaint to dismiss the statutory rape case filed against him some thirty years ago (Polanski has been exiled in France ever since he fled the country in 1977 after he felt convinced he would not receive a fair trial; he is still technically a fugitive of the United States).
Now his lawyers want the case moved completely out of L.A., according to Variety and they have filed documents outlining all the reasons why that court should be disqualified from weighing the director's decades-old case.
A hearing to have the sexual misconduct case dismissed had been set for Jan. 21. Polanski's people said the court expressed a "predetermination" on the issue when it indicated that the director would have to show up in person at the hearing.
According to Variety, Polanski does not seem "eager" to return to the U.S., but would like his name cleared. The 72-year-old director is also apparently working on a new film called, "The Ghost."
Johnny Depp Talks 'Public Enemies'; Says Michael Mann Is 'Uber Meticulous'
We weren't' very keen on this project when it was first announced even though the lead cast was Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard. You'd have to forgive our foolishness and blame our semi-disinterest on Michael Mann's "Miami Vice," a piss poor film so bad we actually resented it.
It made us believe Mann hadn't done good work in a while, but the truth is he really only had that one misfire in recent years ("Ali," and "Collateral," were both quite good; Tom Cruise was remarkably good in the latter, ppl seem to forget this role). Then we checked out the rest of the "Public Enemies" cast (Giovanni Ribisi, Billy Crudup, Lily Taylor), started seeing some great pictures and were basically sold. Johnny Depp recently talked to EW about the film in depth. Some new photos have obviously been making the rounds too. Depp plays the ambiguous "villain" (Dillinger), Bale plays the Fed chasing after him (Melvin Purvis) in the 1930s-set film (we say ambiguous because the film sounds like it's not black and white on its morality).
If we were feeling like bigger assholes, we'd swear this Depp quote was a euphemism for "Michael Mann is an anal twat," and put it in the headline, but we'll be nice for now. Either way, the director sounds ur-text meticulous (these quotes don't appear to be online for some reason, btw)."[Mann is about] the details of the details of the details [laughs]. They should invent a word to describe it because it's not just details, it teeters on microscopic obsession with ever molecule of every moment. Which is admirable, you know? You got to salute that.'
For Mann, he says Christian Bale is obsessive. "Christian works in a totally different way. He becomes the character so totally that he's that person 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The accent, everything" (does that mean he spoke in the Dark Knight growl 24-7 too? No wonder he slapped a family member).
The badboy Johnny Depp of course has an affinity for those he also perceives as badboys. "'Some people might disagree, but I think [Dillinger] was a real-life Robin Hood. I mean, the guy wasn't completely altruistic, but he went out of his way not to kill anybody. He definitely gave a lot of that money away. I love the guy.''
More Depp on Mann's acute perfectionism. When asked about his favorite scene to shoot, Depp says, "How often do you get to stand on the running board of an old 1932 Buick blasting a 50-round clip from a Tommy submachine gun? When do you get to do that without getting in trouble? And With Michael, you do it again and again and again."
"Public Enemies" hits theater July 1, 2009 and should be a strong alternative to the tent pole nonsense most mainstream bloggers are looking forward to.
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