Synopsis For Terry Gilliam's 'Zero Theorem' Leaks

A spoiler-full synopsis of Terry Gilliam's potential follow up to "The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus" has appeared online.

The Pat Rushin scribed "Zero Theorem" will reportedly follow a reclusive 'cubicle zombie' as he juggles a top secret project involving an unsolvable theorem, a relationship with a gorgeous young woman, a friendship with a young rebellious whizkid and questions of his own existence/piece of mind. /Film originally described it in their script review as a "science-fiction drama that skidded on the turnpike and ended up ditches in a psychogenic fugue."

Here's the first two graphs of the synopsis, read at your own risk.

Qohen Leth, a socially maladjusted "cubicle zombie" with a genius for computer work, is waiting for a phone call. His entire life has been consumed with the wait for this call. He doesn’t know the nature and origin of the call, but he knows it will provide him with the purpose that he has long lived without.

Qohen is given a special project by his corporate managers. His task is to solve a mysterious theorem that has stumped, and mentally broken, the long list of computer geniuses that were previously assigned the job.

The film is reportedly set to start shooting in May of this year with Billy Bob Thornton attached to the lead role. This would fit in perfect with Thornton recently much-publicised band, The Boxmasters, who finish their current tour on the 24th of this month.

Meanwhile, Gilliam's 'Doctor Parnassus' is set for a Fall release of this year. There's also been recent speculation that the film could debut at the Cannes Film Festival which some have erroneously reported as fact.

Nicholas Winding Refn's 'Valhalla Rising' Brutal Teaser Trailer

A teaser trailer for Nicholas Winding Refn's "Vahalla Rising" has been released, albeit via Youtube.

The film stars Mads Mikkelson ("Casino Royale", the upcoming "Clash Of The Titans") as a disfigured mute viking warrior who escapes his captives and embarks on an epic journey of self-discovery.

As well as the trailer, a plethora of behind-the-scenes footage from film's production can be found here courtesy of the Refn's assistant.

The film is due for an August release in Refn's home country of Denmark but does not yet have a U.S. Distributor. The trailer is, however, being hosted by U.K. distributor Vertigo Films which is also home to Refn's last effort and Sundance Film Festival hit "Bronson" - so its likely 'Valhalla' will get exposure over here as well.

Shortcuts: More 'Rum Diary' Photos; Footage From 'In The Loop,' 'Crank 2' & 'Bananaz', Rainn Wilson Collaborates With Rivers Cuomo

More shots of Johnny Depp, this time with Aaron Eckhart on the Puerto Rican set of "The Rum Diary" have found their way online. Based on a Hunter S. Thompson novel, this is the second time (after "Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas") that Depp will be playing a surrogate character based on the author who became one of his famous friends. [PopSugar]

Catch a bunch of webisodes from Armando Iannucci's "In The Loop." The clips focus on the character of Jamie McDonald, a senior press officer, and has the tagline: 'Jamie McDonald: The crossest man in Scotland." [Empire]

A few behind-the-scenes clips from Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's "Crank 2: High Voltage" have showed up online. [TrailerAddict]

A clip from a Gorillaz documentary called "Bananaz" has been unveiled. The doc will will released at Babelgum on April 20th and will feature artists such D12 and De La Soul. Dennis Hopper made his way into it as well, which isn't a total surprise since he appeared on the group's last record from 2005, Demon Days. [BBC]

Captain Kirk himself, Chris Pine, revealed that he failed in auditions for James Cameron's "Avatar" and Roland Emmerich's "10,000 BC" before earning his iconic "Star Trek" role. [Vanity Fair]

Among some jokes referencing his and James Franco's cameo at this year's Oscars, Seth Rogen has once again discussed the possibilities of a "Pineapple Express" sequel. Whether those talks were with the barista at his local Starbucks or with Judd Apatow is anyone's guess. [MTV]

Entertainment Weekly have compiled a list of the '25 funniest women in Hollywood.' [EW]

Critic Lou Lumenick on Rawson Marshall Thurber's "Mysteries In Pittsburgh": "You know a movie's got problems when the most memorable thing about it is Sienna Miller's mustache" [NY Post]

A whole bunch of "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen" concept art has shown up online. [Flickr]

Angelina Jolie's next film "Salt" will apparently feature baby ninjas. [Videogum]

A new clip from "Angels & Demons" is now available for viewing. [Apple]

Billy Bob Thornton was reportedly booed during his band's set as he tried to explain his odd behavior on Canadian TV earlier in the week. [TheStar]

After the previous announcement of their upcoming collaboration, a video has been released of Rainn Wilson joining Weezer's Rivers Cuomo in a cover of Joan Osborne's 'One Of Us.' The performance begins at around the 4:42 mark.

Edgar Wright Introduces 'Scott Pilgrim' To The World In Vlog Entry

A "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" website has launched and we know we sort of promised to not report every little drop of press film squeezes out (cause frankly there'd be a post every day and that would be annoying), but this introduction of the website and site/blog by Edgar Wright is admittedly pretty great.

It features Mary Elizabeth Winstead's short, Ramona Flowers hairdo, a quick shot of the Sex Bob-Omb band jamming (Michael Cera, Alison Pill and a scruffy, Kevin Drew-looking Mark Webber; sporting a similar guitar no less, who also says he's learning to play guitar for the role), ''Pilgrim' screenwriter Michael Bacall (who is training with them; does he have a role too? He was an actor first), the top of Sloan singer Chris Murphy's head ( and many of the other actors like Ellen Wong and Chris Evans (who was shown yesterday in some cool-looking meta-posters). See more of it yourself.

Cillian Murphy Stars In Feist Video/Short Film Directed By Broken Social Scene Frontman Kevin Drew

For years now, Broken Social Scene founder Kevin Drew has expressed a the wish to converge his cinematic ideals and his musical output. He started in 2003 by co-directing a good chunk of his indie-rock collective's videos with partner George Vale.

So not surprisingly he's made further good on this promise by directing a short film (in the style of a music video) set to Feist's "The Water" that stars Leslie Feist, Cillian Murphy and Canadian actor David Fox.

IFC and Pitchfork have teamed up, with consideration from Revolver Films, to deliver the premiere.

What makes it a short film and not a music video, you ask? Drew himself refers to it to Paste Magazine as a "musical poem" and that's a fairly adept thing to call it. There's almost no dialogue - in fact Murphy tells IFC he agreed to shoot it without even having a script to refer to and it's not clear if there ever was one. Murphy says, "What appealed to me most about it when he told me about the idea [was that he said] this is going to be for all intents and purposes a silent movie. I think there are like four words of dialogue in the film, and I love that, the fact that you've got to act or convey emotion, just silently."

In a making of video interview available on Pfork, Drew explains he wanted to cast Murphy opposite Feist and let their exceptionally expressive eyes do all the talking. So, mystical concept involving suspended animation and a mummy plus "silent film" surely equals experimental movie, right? It would seem so - Drew's icy world creates a nice dynamic in the middle of a song about water, making an interesting parallel about the water-ice-vapor trifecta that lie alongside the mother-father-son relationship in the film.

Meanwhile, Drew apparently briefly considered killing Feist in the making of the film. He tells Paste, "What I wanted was for them to go into the water. Leslie has so much spirit, God bless her, she was like, 'OK, I’ll do it—give me a wet suit and I’ll go in, but she would have died from hypothermia and I would have probably had a hate list the size of Canada, so we didn’t do that."

Drew hints at moving on to full-length features after this and from what we can see that's not a bad idea at all. Murphy tells IFC he has ideas a brewin', "I think he’s got lots of movie ideas and he was an unbelievably natural director. I know he’d done a couple of Broken Social Scene videos, but this was something different, this is a little short film and he just got it. And from talking to him and Leslie, it’s like he’s been making and writing films in his head for years. I was so amazed by his ability to understand the way it all works. It took me a long time to grasp the nature or the language of film and he seemed to have it just naturally and that’s a real gift I think, particularly for a director, so I’d love to work with him again."

The film is available online for one week only, so watch it while you can.

Embed removed because its autoplay was annoying everyone, including us. Check the links above to see the short film.

Gus Van Sant Wants Jack Black & Woody Harrelson To Star In 'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test'

Gus Van Sant's upcoming adaptation of Tom Wolfe's literary cult-hit "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," which pioneered new journalism, told the story of Ken Kesey, his drug-induced tour with his band of Merry Pranksters and helped usher"The Grateful Dead" into the mainstream, could possibly star two drug-guzzling stars themselves, Woody Harrelson and Jack Black.

According to Rolling Stone, "Van Sant originally pictured the late Heath Ledger for the Kesey role, but now has two marquee names in mind: Woody Harrelson and Jack Black, which might make the film more of comedy than a zany drug jag." Apparently the former wife of Jerry Garcia, Caroline Garcia believes Harrelson would be a perfect fit for Kesey, due to a visit the actor paid to Kesey right before he died, "They went out into the field and had a pretty good mind meld," Garcia said, "I just know he could play the role."

The project, which has struggled through a series of false starts, is finally getting underway and has a script penned by his "Milk," screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and has already signed "Milk," director of photography Harris Savides.

Weekend Box Office Options for April 10-13: 'Observe & Report,' 'Anvil! The Story Of Anvil' & More

The truncated weekend box-office preview. Another Friday, another reason to look at the film release schedule and see if there's anything out there worth spending your hard earned money on. Frankly, usually there's not, at least not in regular, wide release, but the limited release crop is usually a good bet to put on your radar.

Your best mainstream bet is the dark Jody Hill/Seth Rogen non-"Paul Bart" unhinged mallcop comedy/drama vehicle, "Observe & Report." Wait, "what!?" you say? Didn't we dislike it? (as if we have to have an immutable hardline) Yes, we did, and it has a pretty appropriately low 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but if you must spend your money in a multiplex this weekend (and we suggest you don't, almost always), you are better off spending it to support Jody Hill's nascent career than you are spending it support retarded-looking crap like "Dragonball: Evolution" (a dismal 21% rating) and "Hannah Montana The Movie," (a lameduck 44% rating).

As much as we think Hill's film is clumsy and amateurish at times, he's an indie filmmaker at heart and we definitely support that and he can only go up from here, frankly. What we take issue with from other critics is those lauding the film because it's a transgressive, ballsy and subversive picture within the studio system, and yes, that's a great swindle they pulled off, congratulations, but that does not necessarily mean it's a good or successful, transgressive, ballsy and subversive picture and a lot of the geek crits seem to be extremely confused with that point. Oh well, buyer beware.

What you should really do is wait for limited release films to expand in your market. Greg Mottola's coming of age/first romance picture, "Adventureland" is a excellent bet there, it expands into wide release this weekend and will be available in 1,876 theaters according to Box-Office mojo. The astonishing and observant immigration drama "Sin Nombre" also moves onto 65 additional screens and you should definitely catch that one if it's playing in your city. The sprawling Italian crime drama, "Gommorah" is on 51 screens, the Academy Award-nominated Foreign film for Sweden, "Everlasting Moments," is on 30 screens and the peerless and venerable "Che" is still on 25 screens. There's stuff out there people, you just have to look for it with a bit of effort (to those who never get any of these films in your town, we apologize on the studios' behalf).

In Limited Release
If you live in New York or L.A., the first thing you should do after work today is immediately buy tickets to the hilarious and yet, moving documentary, "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil," a cheekily (and self-aware) titled film chronicling the underachieving and unappreciated 1980s Canadian heavy metal band named Anvil, that are inexplicably still going despite massive adversity (almost a non-existent audience) and the fact that they're in their '50s now. The superficial entry point to getting an understanding of the picture, "This Is Spinal Tap," but the flick is an emotional and heartwarming story about life-long friendship and persevering and not a mockumentary in the least (though yes, it's pretty hysterical at times). One must experience it first hand to fully understand the layered richness to it that's comedic, hopeful and soulful. Tellingly, the film has a spectacular 98% approval rating on RT. There's a glowing endorsement for you.

Also in limited release are films that could be good -- but since we weren't invited to screenings of them, you'll have to fend for yourselves a little -- are the suburban drama "Lymelife" with Kieran Culkin and Alec Baldwin, and the coming-of-age love triangle, "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" starring Sienna Miller and Peter Sarsgaard. "Lymelife," we have no pre-judgment on -- we did wanted to see it at TIFF '08, but missed it -- but it only has a 55% rating, however, as should be noted for all limited release, this could change and grow or lessen when more reviews roll in. "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" did not look good from the trailer and perhaps we were right as it has a dreadful 10% rating.

Also out in limited release is, "Pope's Toilet" (86% rating), "In a Dream" (82% rating) and "Sky Turns" which has an unfavorable N/A rating. As always, no one is putting a gun to your head to go see movies in debut release, so if you're not in a major city, you should catch up on smaller pictures that have finally rolled into your town or rent or buy them on DVD. Don't just be a drone and show up to theaters to munch on popcorn. There's a great cinematic education to be found in almost any local video store of even half repute.

Magnolia To Release Dark Robin Williams Film, 'World's Greatest Dad' For Late August

We placed "World's Greatest Dad" -- Bob Goldthwait's politically incorrect black comedy about a father (Robin Williams) whose fake suicide note for his son turns him into a publishing sensation -- on our list of 15-plus films you should see at Sundance 2009 earlier this year.

We didn't fly out to Mormon country of course, but the premise did sound pretty great and reviews seemed to be mostly positive (though we'll admit we didn't see that many either way). Now Magnolia Pictures has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the film and will be releasing it theatrically in late August according to The Wrap.

They'll also be following the model set by the Magnolia film, "Two Lovers," which released the film OnDemand weeks before it hit theaters, so the film could ostensibly be available in late July or early August.

The Wrap calls the film "delightfully raunchy and subversive" and seemingly gives it their unequivocal approval. "[The film] dares to turn personal tragedy into a punchline. Williams outshines all his performances in recent studio comedies, mainly because the material allows him the freedom to be subversive. But the movie doesn't take an experimentally humorous route à la the Coen brothers or stay consistently gross in the vein of the Farrellys. Instead, it applies a twisted premise to a seemingly innocuous dramedy about family ties, and therein lies its appeal."

We're looking forward to it. Here's deeper context at the film's Sundance page.

Will Sigourney Weaver Appear In 'Ghostbusters 3'?

The entire cast of "Ghostbusters" is allegedly onboard for "Ghostbusters 3" including Rick Moranis and Ernie Hudson, but as CHUD wisely and cautiously notes, nothing is set in stone yet because no script has been completed.

With that said, is Sigourney Weaver coming back? She's been the one name missing from the "entire cast" conversation so far, but at a recent press junket with Dan Aykroyd that CHUD attended about the "Ghostbusters" videogame, the star said she "hopefully" will return.

"And when we do the Ghostbusters 3 movie, hopefully, Sigourney will be in, I know. We'll make that happen," he said optimistically.

Aykroyd went on to explain the video game. Perhaps they'll be some clues in there as to what the plot for 'G3' will be? The whole, "new generation" idea has basically already been confirmed by Harold Ramis, so perhaps the storyline will take cues from the game.

"There'll be a whole new generation that has to be trained. And that whole new generation will be led by an individual that you'll all love when you hear who it is, but I'm not going to tell you now. There will be lots of cadets, boys and girls, who'll be learning how to use the cyclotron, the accelerators, and the new stuff. The nuon splitter, the inter-planetary interceptor, all these great tools they're going to have to flip from dimension to dimension. Anyway. Game number two, maybe. "

With "Ghostbusters 3" reportedly not arriving until sometime in 2011, any attempts to pin-down the idea however seem speculative at best.

Brian Reitzell Does Music Supervision For 'The Brothers Bloom'; 2nd Trailer Released

We saw Rian Johnson's "Brick" follow-up, "The Brothers Bloom," a madcap European caper flick, at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and while we're big fans of the filmmaker's auspicious debut, we could not really hang with the spectacle of overwrought whimsy in the picture, though we'll admit, near the end of the picture the film had kind of won us over when its conceits and ticks calmed down a bit (but the damage was already done, frankly).

We weren't the only ones. The keen Jeffrey Wells called it for exactly what it is and was less forgiving than we were. "I lasted a little less than an hour," he wrote in September calling the film a "sumptuous but impossibly silly and logic-free" gag. "I was reeling from the preciousness, the overdone continental cutesiness, the feeling of being simultaneously mauled, tickled, fucked with and drugged by the impossibly faux-Wes Anderson style of the damn thing."

This line is rather choice: "Rian obviously wants to be Wes, but this movie makes 'The Life Aquatic' look like Yasujiro Ozu's 'Floating Weeds.' "

The Ultra Culture blog openly criticized the film with a post called “5 Questions For The Brothers Bloom” (don't bother it's been taken down there's problems with this site it seems) and Johnson actually responded to the criticism on his Tumblr blog if you want to sort of get a vague idea of what the censuring points were.

Anywho, this a longwinded way of saying, "The Brothers Bloom" has itself a new trailer, which we find a little underwhelming considering how much of a spectacle one could sell it as to the twee-enthusiast crowd, but maybe that's what they're exactly trying to dial down. It also reveals something we didn't know and that's that music-supervisor Brian Reitzell (Sofia Coppola's go-to soundtrack guy and a respected musician who inventively composed the score for the surprisingly decent horror/vampire film "30 Days of Night"). Reitzell will also always have the estimable distinction of coaxing My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields out of hermitude to compose some original music for "Lost In Translation" and contributed one great original song to that soundtrack as well. He also music supe'd and co-wrote some music with Spoon's Britt Daniels for the Will Ferrell film, "Stranger Than Fiction."

Johnson's brother Nathan composed the score of whimsy and Reitzell presumably was instrumental in picking tracks by Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens in the film. We can't remember the rest of the songs, but we do recall it being a pretty choice selection of tracks (however, how they're used is another story, there's way too many music montages and one "activities montage" so desperate to be Wes Anderson all it needed was the Futura Bold font to be a total aping). Hopefully we can get that listing of songs from the film soon; they flew by too quickly in the final credits.

Part of the synopsis of the film reads, "Welcome to the world of The Brothers Bloom, where deception is an art and nothing is as it seems. The brothers (Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody) have perfected the art of swindling fortunes through years of fraternal teamwork. Now they’ve decided to take on one last spectacular job—luring a beautiful and eccentric heiress (Rachel Weisz) into an elaborate plot that takes them around the world." Here's more.

"The Brothers Bloom" opens May 15 in limited release. We still hold out hope for Johnson's next picture. Here's that new trailer.

Shortcuts: 'Scott Pilgrim's' Lucas Lee Is An Action Star, Gerard Butler And Katherine Heigl Learn 'The Ugly Truth'

"Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" director Edgar Wright has posted fake meta posters for the Lucas Lee character played by Chris Evans, who is one of the seven evil-ex boyfriends Michael Cera's titular character most battle. Evans character is a pro skateboarder turned obnoxious movie star that can't act in the vein of Keanu Reeves. [Edgar Wright Here]

Angelina Jolie is apparently in "serious talks" for "Sin City 2" for the role of Ava, the protagonist of the "A Dame To Kill For" yarn. We've read this before haven't we? In 2006 actually and we're still waiting. We know "Sin City 2" isn't moving forward right now -- and Robert Rodriguez has already stated his not so veiled thoughts on the project at SXSW -- so we call total B.S. on this story. Buyer beware. [Moviehole]

Ricky Gervais' "Men At The Pru" has been retitled "Cemetery Junction." [Ricky Gervais]

A throwaway line about "Tron 2" in a Canadian newspaper reports that the budget of the film will be $300 million. Though, what are the chances that this will be the film that breaks the record for highest budgeted film!? Believe at your own expense. [Vancouver Sun]

Michael Caine believes Christopher Nolan will have a role for him in "Inception." Although let's not forget, this is the guy that accidentally started all the 'Batman 3' rumors and freely admits he knows nothing. The cast as is stands includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page. [MTV]

The executive director of the Sundance Institute, which runs the Sundance Film Festival, has resigned. Ken Brecher's decision follows that of the festival director's director, Geoff Gilmore. [THR]

Fanboy screenwriter Justin Marks is writing an adaptation of popular video game "Shadow Of The Colossus." The game revolves around a hero, Wander, who must travel through a vast Western style landscape on horseback and defeat sixteen beings known as colossi to restore the life of a girl named Mono. [THR]

Gary Daniels has joined Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables." He will play a villainous role that will reportedly lock horns with Jason Statham and Jet Li. Good luck with that. [Moviehole]

Emmy Rossum has expressed interest in roles in Neil Gaiman's "Black Orchid" and "Death." [MTV]

"Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince" has also unveiled a new trailer. [Youtube]

A trailer for Robert Luketic's "The Ugly Truth" starring Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl has been unveiled. Can this be worse than "27 Dresses"? Your call, but it certainly doesn't look great. [Myspace]

Ryan Gosling's Dead Man's Bones Premieres New Video, Album Coming Soon?

With efforts like "Half Nelson" and "Lars And The Real Girl," Ryan Gosling is slowly but surely etching his name as one of Hollywood's most versatile leading men. Acting accomplishments aside though, Gosling continues to explore the other side of his artistic talent, his two-man musical project Dead Man's Bones.

The band debuted a live performance of their dark, eerie track "In The Room Where You Sleep" earlier this year and we loved it. Now Gosling and fellow band member, Zach Shields (boyfriend of Rachel McAdams' little sister), have just released a video for a new song titled "Name In Stone."

The video was filmed on location at a cemetary with the L.A. Inner Mass Choir and The Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children's Choir providing backing. The song is less dark than its predecessor due to the acoustic guitar replacing the piano but still it retains the strangely heart-warming melancholy of 'Where You Sleep' - even with the bright backing vocals. Either way, we love it - Gosling's vocals, the music, the video, everything.

Moody ‘Moon’ Trailer Disquiets; The First Great Space Film Of The New Century Or A Kubrick Rehash?

Finally, the curtains are coming off and “Moon” is revealing itself. Previously an enigma, the film is set in a futuristic time period—it’s a science fiction prophecy like Stanley Kubrick’s “2001.”

At this point, Earth has discovered energy on the moon, and this is where Sam Rockwell is stationed to collect air tanks of it. He has a HAL-like friendly computer along with him: Kevin Spacey voices it, capturing the sedated and familiar feel of computers past. From the trailer, it’s unclear whether or not the computer comes into play, but like all films that follow the sci-fi template, you can probably guess.

The trailer reveals the one central event that turns the picture on its head (we're surprised it shows so much frankly), and that’s when Rockwell finds the odd duplicate of himself and the crux of the film begins...

Today's girlish fanboy frisson at the trailer's appearance is slightly annoying though. The rave reviews for the film (or simply the trailer) feel like they're coming from unlettered folks who have never seen a Kubrick film (and or the archetype that has never strayed over the years). "Moon" -- a fine film we saw at SXSW -- is strong and affecting, the Clint Mansell score is particularly excellent, Sam Rockwell is great too, but claims that the film is a modern masterpiece is pure sci-fi enthusiast hyberole and overstatement that we feel we must put in check as there is certainly no reinvention of the wheel here.

"Moon" is directed by Duncan Jones, the son of David Bowie and is due in theaters in June 12, in limited release. The poster comes courtesy of Rope Of Silicon. - Nick Duval

Not So Fast: 'Year One' Achieves its PG-13 Rating

It was recently reported that Harold Ramis' "Year One" was unsuccessful in its appeal to the MPAA regarding it's R rating. We felt the decision to uphold the rating wouldn't harm the film's performance so much as producer Judd Apatow has had much success with R rated comedies in the past.

THR reports today though reveal that Ramis and Apatow have bit the bullet, now edited the film and achieved the PG-13 rating that was initially desired. We've read the script and this makes sense frankly. There's nothing really in the screenplay by "The Office" scribes Lee Eisenberg, and Gene Stupnitsky that suggests the film should be R-Rated in the least. Maybe the off-the-page improvising took it to a more vulgar nether region.

The film was originally rated R for 'some sexual content and language' but has now been downgraded for 'crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence.' It's anyone's guess what that actually means but we assume, as the description went from 'some language' in the R category to 'brief strong language' in the PG category, the new edit will probably be less profanity-ridden.

The plot for 'Year One' doesn't exactly set the world on fire and much of the film's appeal will probably come from select moments and gags, but the script is mostly a fun read. The trailer however, was already underwhelming and we hope the editing job will not detriment the film in any way.

'Year One' is out in theatres June 19th.

'Anvil!' Director Sacha Gervasi Talks Directing Herve Villechaize Biopic

(Old, but new to us...) We guess we never did write up a story on, "My Dinner With Herve," a biopic of the "Fantasy Island" little guy, Richardo Montalban sidekick Herve Villechaize that was announced in the trades last October (we swear we did, but search seems to refute that).

It's being directed by our pal Sacha Gervasi, the director behind the excellent documentary, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" that comes out this weekend in limited release (and you should see if if you live in NY/LA).

Gervasi, a former journalist, who's first foray into well-known screenwriting was penning Steven Speilberg's "The Terminal" (not a bad start, huh?), was actually the last person to interview Villechaize just days before he committed suicide in 1993 and is writing and directing the project.

"Herve wasn’t just a pop culture icon; he was one of the most charming, cultured and dangerous people I’ve ever met. His is the story of a unique misfit trying to find his place in the world," Gervasi told Variety in October.

The project would be his first drama and in a recent interview with ComingSoon the director revealed that he spent three days worth of interview time with Villechaize in the last week of August, 1993 (he died September 4; any journo knows that spending three days with a subject is a luxury and a massive amount of time). "Like 'Anvil' the idea's been in gestation for 15 years," Gervasi said. "I wrote it as a short [initially], and then knew it was going to be a feature film and I've just come back to it. I just finished the script."

"It's the untold story," he said. "Everybody knows Tattoo and ['Fantasy Island,'] but nobody knows anything about him. So that really answers that question. I think people are going to be surprised." The picture is now in pre-production and will apparently start shooting some time in the Fall.

Picture of Gervasi from Vulture who have a great interview with him, re: "Anvil! The Story of Anvil," check it out. Go see the film. You'll thank us for it later, trust us.

'Sherlock Holmes' Sequel On The Way? RDJ Enforces PG-13 Vibe

If you've read our review of the "Sherlock Holmes" script -- the film that Guy Ritchie has directed with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law starring as the famous detective and his sidekick Watson -- you'll know talk of a sequel and a PG-13 rating are no big surprise.

We wrote last year, "A lot of action adventure films have a hokey, whoa-what's-going-on! corny thrill ride vibe to them (we can't help but going back to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" comparison) and 'Sherlock' is no exception," which tells you everything you need to know about the inherent PG-13ness that will be delivered ( Guy Ritchie himself already said the film would be like "James Bond in 1891," and "fun for families," strong enough clues for you?)

And then about a sequel, well, it's a Hollywood tentpole and well, we wrote about the film's concluding hint, "The story is meant to begat a Mcfranchise (and look for a famous villain cameo near the end) and that means asses-in-seats and nothing too wild or edgy."

Now Robert Downey Jr. is saying the same. "I feel like there’s going to be a ‘Sherlock Holmes 2,’” he told MTV News, which basically translates into, "if this film does gangbusters at the box-office like we hope it does, they'll clearly green light another."

A devoted 12-stepper, Downey Jr. says he didn't want the film to delve into Holmes opium-addicted past, (even MTV says he and the filmmakers were trying to keep the "overall family friendly tone") and apparently he asked that scenes with drug references be as ambiguous as possible.

"I actually petitioned the court and said, ‘This is a PG-13 movie. Let’s just refer to these peripherally.’ So at one point, Watson says, ‘What are you doing, that’s for eye surgery!’” Downey said in his cheeky way that generally only makes partial sense.

Anyhow, there you have it. "Sherlock Holmes," possible sequels, decidedly PG-13 popcorn munching feel. Have fun come December 25.

Jim Jarmusch Talks The Key Cinematic Influences Of 'The Limits Of Control'

We were going to put a slight moratorium on reporting on Jim Jarmusch's "The Limits of Control," because a) we've seen it and b) we've written a ton about the film, but this amazing quote from the press notes about the influences of the film is just too good too pass up.

This is how Jarmusch says he pictured the film and if you're a cinephile, this should probably give you an erection too. Much of the film has been surrounded in mystery so far, but this should give you some major clues for what to expect.

"What would it be like if Jacques Rivette remade John Boorman's masterpiece "Point Blank"? Or what if [experimental French filmmaker] Marguerite Duras (writer of "Hiroshima mon amour") remade Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai"? Michelangelo Antonioni looms large in my subconscious so he's probably there, but I wasn't thinking about him beforehand. I was obliquely thinking of Euro crime films from the 1970s and 1980s, like some of [Italian crime and political drama director ] Francesco Rosi's work. These impressionistic inspirations floated through my head, in terms of finding a style rather than imitating these movies."

Cineastes who love and appreciate Melville and Boorman's aforementioned atmospheric crime noirs, Rivette's non-linerness, and Antonioni's modernist enigmatic bent, should be getting pretty excited for this one. All the aforementioned films are stone-cold classics, and everyone of those filmmakers have made some seminal and remarkable pictures, so it's further reason why you should anticipate 'Control' (and be somewhat excited that this kind of picture has been made by a fairly mainstream movie studio; an mini major as it were). If you've never heard the fascinating DVD commentary track on the making of "Point Blank" with Boorman and director Steven Soderbergh, we highly recommend it. Commentary track enthusiasts will tell you it's one of the best out there.

"The Limits of Control" stars Isaach De Bankolé as a mysterious loner sent to pull off an equally opaque job in Spain. The film also co-stars John Hurt, Paz De La Huerta, Bill Murray, Gael Garcia Bernal, Tilda Swinton and hits theaters in limited release on May 21.

Here's an awesome scene from "Point Blank"

"Le Samourai"


Ps, venerable contemporary cinematographer Christopher Doyle lensed "The Limits Of Control," but this isn't the first time that he and Jarmusch worked together. The two shot The Raconteurs video for "Steady As She Goes" in 2006 on Super 8 and primitive digital cameras made for children which purposely created a stuttering effect. Here's the video.

Michel Gondry's Second Video Collection, 'More Videos 2' Hits April 14; Features Radiohead Video The Band Hated

As we reported last year, Michel Gondry launched a new website and announced plans for a DVD called, "Gondry 2: More Videos" which would act as an unaffiliated part two to his Director's Label video DVD collection, "The Work of Director Michel Gondry" that came out in 2003.

The Director's Label series -- which was co-owned by Gondry -- looks dead (according to a brief email interview we did with series creator Richard Brown in 2007), so it seems that the fanciful French director struck out on his own to collate his second disc of music videos.

The 2nd collection of videos, now titled, "Michel Gondry 2: More Videos Before & After DVD 1," is available starting April 14 on the director's website and features videos from Beck's "Cellphone's Dead," The White Stripes "The Denial Twist" (which featured Conan O'Brien) Björk's "Declare Independence," and Radiohead's "Knives Out," – a video that the band themselves hated at the time and denied its use on the original Director's Label DVD.

"I showed [Thom Yorke] a storyboard and every single detail: he was completely excited and happy for it - and then, it turned out, they all criticize me for being selfish and putting my own views on it and my own introspection," Gondry said, peeved in a 2004 interview. "And they didn't let me use my video for my DVD! And I'm really mad at them for having done that to me, that they abuse their power! It did not go smooth, but if it went smooth, it would be mediocre."

Here's the entire tracklist of music videos. Pitchfork has a list of 2nd dvd goodies which include clips you've seen on YouTube, like Gondry solving a Rubik's Cube with his feet and more.

01 Michael Andrews [ft. Gary Jules]: "Mad World"
02 Paul McCartney: "Dance Tonight" *
03 Thomas Dolby: "Close But No Cigar"
04 Björk: "Declare Independence" *
05 Steriogram: "Walkie Talkie Man" *
06 The Willowz: "I Wonder"
07 Beck: "Cellphone's Dead" *
08 The White Stripes: "The Denial Twist" *
09 Donald Fagen: "Snowbound"
10 Cody ChesnuTT: "King of the Game"
11 Sinead O'Connor: "Fire On Babylon"
12 Queen [ft. Wyclef Jean, Pras and Free]: "Another One Bites the Dust"
13 Radiohead: "Knives Out" *
14 Dick Annegarn: "Soleil du Soir"
15 Sananda Maitreya: "She Kissed Me"
16 Sheryl Crow: "A Change Would Do You Good"
17 The Black Crowes: "High Head Blues"
18 Leafbirds: "It Can All Be Taken Away"
19 The Rolling Stones: "Gimme Shelter"
20 Energy Orchard: "How the West Was Won”

Here's the Radiohead video in question

Beck's "Cellphone's Dead"

The White Stripes' "Denial Twist"

2nd 'Public Enemies' Trailer Hits; Extra Gangsta This Time

MSN has its hands on a second trailer for Michael Mann's "Public Enemies," starring Johnny Depp as notorious American gangster John Dillinger and Christian Bale, as one of the Feds attempting to take him, along with Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum), to justice during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

It boasts an excellent supporting cast (Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Leelee Sobieski, Giovanni Ribisi to name a few) and this new trailer is more of the same, but worries us less than the first one. We loved the script, but the first initial trailer did concern us a bit. We weren't entirely convinced that a lo-fi digital look suited a 1930s piece at all, but we've since seen the trailer on the big screen (and not on a computer screen) and we have to admit it looked a lot better and we were very impressed. The digi-look still doesn't look amazing via Trailer Addict, but this version seems to have more mood and tone that convinces us this won't be just a dumbed-down bang-'em-up (the first trailer was bigger and broader to take in more flies).



Here's the full synopsis:

In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)—the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public. No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression. But while the adventures of Dillinger’s gang—later including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)—thrilled many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw’s capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI. He made Dillinger America’s first Public Enemy Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing “Clark Gable of the FBI.” However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis’ men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of Western ex-lawmen (newly baptized as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals—from the infamous “Lady in Red” to the Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti—were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on Dillinger.

"Public Enemies" hits theaters July 1.

'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' Soars: A Funny, Poignant Tale Of Brotherhood And Perseverance

We've been big supporters of the film, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil," for basic reasons ever since we saw it last June during Sundance At BAM in Brooklyn. Not because it's a rock documentary (at the end of the day who cares), and not because we're particularly strong fans of the '80s metal band's music (though afterwards, it's hard not to love them), it's just simply a fantastically made film with a ton of humor, soul and humanity, period.

Here's a version of the "review" we ran last summer (and here's an even earlier review from HotDocs in May 2008).

“I can’t envision myself being a millionaire,” Anvil frontman/guitarist Steve Ludlow, a k a Lips, told the New York Times in May 2008. “but I can envision myself going to a gig every night and making enough money to make ends meet. I want to be the biggest bar band in the world and work endlessly.”

That's a pretty great summary of the underdog life of the Canadian metal band Anvil and their uphill slog of a story as told in the Sacha Gervasi directed documentary, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" (cheekily titled on purpose). We saw the keenly self-aware yet condescension-free documentary at BAM's Sundance Institute in Brooklyn and while we didn't want to do a full-blown review quite yet, we did want to note just how amazing it was.

The influential yet overlooked and underachieving rockers were once one of the key bands in the early '80s metal scene and early pioneers of the lightning fast sound that became known as thrash metal, but due to a confluence of circumstances - incompetent managers, inept record labels for just two examples - the band were never able to capitalize on their sound the same way bands like Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer did (representatives from all those bands, plus Motorhead's Lemmy and Guns N' Roses' Slash all adamantly sing the bands praises in the doc; Ozzy Osbourne has subsequently become a big champion of the film as well).

Alternatively, hilarious, pathetic and moving, 'Anvil' goes from a doofusy, real-life "This Is Spinal Tap" set-up (you think they're morons who should've given up the ghost a long time ago) to an incredibly poignant and very human story of friendship, brotherhood, cockroach-like tenacity and resilience in the face of the harshest of obstacles (you want them to succeed in every way imaginable). No joke, the inspiring tale provoked an emotional standing ovation after the screening where Gervasi (who wrote the Spielberg film, "The Terminal") and the Anvil hosers were onhand for a Q&A (more on that in another post). The guileless rockers (now in their 50s!) also rocked out for an amazing 45 minute concert afterwards (which totally ruled). You might not (and probably don't) know anything about this band nor care one iota about heavy metal, but that won't delude your enjoyment of this film in the least. 'The Story Of Anvil' is a remarkably gratifying and universal tale and ended up on our favorite movies that we saw in 2008 list ; it was that fucking good. We succinctly described it as an "uplifting, but never corny documentary about the under-appreciated and underachieving Canadian heavy metal icons...a story of these lovable buffoons will make you pump devils horns in the sky, cringe with embarrassment, laugh and weep in celebration."

David Noland (who we spoke to last year) composed the moving score and noted texturalist David Torn wrote a few Mogwai-like pieces (he also wrote the score to "The Wackness" which came out last summer 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). So yeah, highly, highly recommended. [A]

"Anvil The Story Of Anvil" comes out in limited release (NY, L.A.) starting this Friday, April 10. The band seem to be breaking out of their cult ghetto as they have been asked to record songs for the massively popular videogame, RockBand and the film has already done outrageously well in the U.K. where it was released in February. Watch the trailer if you haven't already and go out of your way to see this film when it eventually expands into your town.