Will Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Debut At The Venice Film Festival?

As we noted in one of our fall film predix pieces, Wes Anderson's fifth feature "The Darjeeling Limited" went to the Venice film festival instead of the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007, but that's probably because 'Limited' was relatively artsier than Anderson's usual fare.

Could the same thing happened for his upcoming animated picture, "Fantastic Mr.Fox," starring the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and many more Anderson semi-regulars like Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe.

The translation is poor, but this Italian film blog, seems to be pretty certain that Anderson's film is going to appear.

We had it rumored more than two months ago, and here is plain the truth. We are talking about the participation of Fantastic Mr. Fox, new film of Wes Anderson, to Venice 66.

Apparently the President of 20th Century Fox Italy, Osvaldo De Santis, also inadvertently leaked that Mia Nair's "Amelia," might be presented at the Festival of Rome (both are Fox Searchlight films so maybe this is all starting to make sense; surely in Italy they don't delineate between Fox proper and Fox indie)

File under rumor for now if you want, but it does sound plausible. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" hits theaters in Italy on November 27 and November 13 in the U.S. The 2009 Venice Film Festival runs September 2nd to 12th 2009.

Could Brian Azzarerllo's '100 Bullets' Come To HBO?

Sometimes a potentially huge scoop can slip through the cracks of a news story, which is kind of shocking given the dog-eat-dog world of online news reporting. Still, this seems to have been the case earlier today, when MTV’s Splash Page reported about Brian Azzarerllo’s long-running gangster comic book "100 Bullets."

While attending an event celebrating the end of the comic book’s run, which ended this spring on its 100th issue (naturally), they asked the comic book creator about the chances of a potential 100 Bullets movie or television series.

The gruff, bald-headed comic book genius responded, enthusiastically, “Television — there’s an idea!” Then continued. “That’s all I’ll say. Television… or maybe something that’s not just TV.”

As far as we’re concerned, that was as close to an out-and-out admission that he’s working on an HBO series based on his comic [or Showtime?]. After all, HBO’s motto is, “It’s not TV, it’s HBO,” and the premium cable network, while certainly experiencing an upswing with recent hits like "Eastbound & Down," "True Blood," and "Hung," still has yet to fill the distinctively blood-splattered niche once held by their enormously successful "The Sopranos." A series based on 100 Bullets would be a perfect fit.

Course that's just us picking up on Azzarerllo's insinuation, which others may have missed, but we’re perfectly happy to point it out. - Drew Taylor

First Listen: She & Him's Cover Of The Smiths For '500 Days Of Summer,' Plus Zooey & JGL Go Sid & Nancy For Viral Clips

It must be some kind of pomo viral thing that we don't totally get (considering we've already seen the film and it seems to be random), but Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel have starred in a punk homage to Sid & Nancy for a "500 Days of Summer" related clip helmed by the film's director, Marc Webb. Y0u can watch the un-embeddable clips over at MSN, where the duo play out scenes of a modern couple fighting in the style of the notorious punk pair (i.e., Sid wants Nancy to go see "Blades of Glory"). It's marginally amusing and if you're a fan of either of them, you'll probably enjoy. Photos have also been posted on the Fox Searchlight blog.

Update: OK, no we get it. Cinemash is a series by Mean Magazine and Microsoft where celebrities “mash-up” their favorite scenes from movies. Makese sense.

In "500 Days of Summer" related news, we got our hands on, what is supposed to be the soundtrack's coveted jewel — a new Smiths cover of "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want," by She & Him — Zooey Deschanel's band with M. Ward — that is not included in the film (at least not the version we saw earlier this year). Unfortunately, it's not so hot, at all, it sounds thrown together.

That's all we'll say about that, but regardless, the soundtrack disc comes out July 14 and the film hits theaters July 17 via Fox Searchlight. Here's the song and here's them picks.

Five Directors Who Could Take Over 'Moneyball'

So yes, we're bordering on "Moneyball," overkill [ed. "bordering, hmm, yes...]. And when we said if Steven Soderbergh's off the baseball drama "we no longer care," we lied. We thought about it a bit amongst ourselves and thought, "OK, if this thing's going to possibly go forward. Who would be a good choice or fit?" After all there is still a good and workable Steve Zaillian screenplay that can be presumably reworked to mollify the MLB and various parties, no?

Spike Lee wants to do a Jackie Robinson biopic, but that history of baseball and racial integration story seems far too off the path of this stats, metrics drama. Plus if he had his choice, the Robinson biopic would probably come first and anything else baseball related could kill it. Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden directed the baseball drama, "Sugar" earlier this year, but their take was probably far too socio-political for studios and they surely don't want to repeat themselves either.

Who else could take over? Here's some picks who could take to the mound.

1. George Clooney
Many factors work in Clooney's favor as baseball is in his blood. For one, he was considered a prospect for Ohio's major league team the Cincinnati Reds when he was a teenager. Baseball was a childhood dream. In 1999 he was set to star in ''The Catcher Was a Spy,'' playing real-life baseball player/international spy Morris ''Moe'' Berg, but obviously that never came to pass. His love for baseball is such that Peter Guber, a Mandalay Entertainment chairman, who owns the Ohio minor league team the Dayton Dragons, offered him a contract to play in 2008 (though, yes, that might have been just a playful hometown shout out, Clooney spent much of his childhood in that state). Obviously he's pals with Brad Pitt, which would smooth over any number of obstacles, plus he's already directed a football movie ("Leatherheads" and one terrific film, that had some similar procedural overtones, "Good Night And Good Luck"). But just as importantly, who better than Clooney to understand Beane as a smartest-guy-in-the-room character, since that exemplifies so many of the characters he has played? He worked with Soderbergh on the "Ocean's" trilogy, so he likely would have some understanding of the intent of the latest draft of the screenplay, and possibly how to fix it. More importantly his production company did just move over to Sony where "Moneyball" is set up. Easily the best choice out there, Soderbergh could executive-produce and everyone would be happy.

2. Peter Berg
He's already turned one bestselling sports nonfiction book into a successful film in "Friday Night Lights." Heck, he turned that into a truly fantastic TV show. There'd be some irony in Berg going from Buzz Bissinger's book to Lewis's as the former is quite outspoken in his disagreement with the latters worldview. And while "Hancock" may not be everyone's cup of tea, there are some striking parallels between the titular character and Billy Beane. Both are pariahs not fully understood even by the closest to them, the public's opinion of them based largely on their latest result. Plus it could save Berg the embarrassment of having to adapt a board game ("Battleship") into a feature-length movie.

3. Tony Gilroy
He's only directed two films, but both has decent-sized budgets and major film stars. Several of "Michael Clayton"'s character traits fit Billy Beane. Both were high-ranking employees (not owners) whose job entailed making sure things got done, even if they didn't always have as much of something (information, money) as they would have liked. And both did their best to game the system. Gilroy's movies tend to focus on a behind the scenes look at a firm, which naturally fits in well with this story. He'd probably want to rewrite the script, though, which might not be the worst thing aside from costing a shitload more.

4. John Lee Hancock
If you can look past "The Alamo," you'll see the man who has already directed one baseball movie based on a true story. And if the room doesn't get a little dusty when you watch "The Rookie" then you just might have a little robot on you. But more to the point, he's also directing "The Blind Side" starring Sandra Bullock, Kathy Bates, and Tim McGraw, due out this fall. The film is based on a Michael Lewis nonfiction book of the same name (don't let people fool you, though it raises some interesting points about football and the left tackle position specifically, it isn't exactly the football version of "Moneyball").

5. Bryan Singer
Before the superhero movies (which, admittedly, don't directly relate to "Moneyball") there was a little film called "The Usual Suspects." If Singer is looking to return to those roots, he could do worse than to stop here. In a sense, "Moneyball" is about how Billy Beane figures out to pull a fast one (or a series of fast ones) on the rest of the league. The more you view it as a long con or a caper, the more Singer becomes an intriguing choice to create a stylish version of the events. Plus on an2005 episode of the TV show "House" (Singer is the show's executive-producer) -- a baseball episode titled, "Sports Medicine" -- the "X-Men" filmmaker appeared as the person directing a baseball player character in a anti-drug ad. Sounds like he might be a fan of the national pastime.

Let it die you say? Hey, better this than "Major League 4" (which is actually been rumored as as a possible project moving forward) any damn day of the week.

Review: 'The Cove': The Most Vital Documentary Of The Year So Far

Not unlike last year's Academy Award winning doc "Man on Wire," Louie Psihoyos' "The Cove" utilizes familiar narrative genre tropes to tell its against-all-odds nonfiction story. Despite this somewhat convoluted device, "The Cove" rarely falters, succeeding as a clear-eyed indictment of marine mammal hunting, and exposing the injustice of secretive annual dolphin slaughtering in Taiji, Japan. Richard O'Barry, dolphin trainer for the 1960s "Flipper" TV show, obsesses over repenting for his role in perpetuating dolphin exhibition, now a multi-million dollar enterprise.

O'Barry's fight against the mistreatment of these animals has led him to numerous run ins with the law (when he's asked if he's ever been arrested, O'Barry playfully answers, "This year?"), and to the Ocean Preservation Society (Psihoyos' organization), who he tasks with assembling an "Ocean's Eleven-style" team to penetrate the aggressive defense of Taiji's local fisherman, who fight violently to preserve their volatile occupation. The purpose of O'Barry and the OPS's particular mission? Capture the horrifying brutalities committed in the titular cove on film, seemingly the only way to get the publics attention and that of the IWC (International Whaling Commission, depicted here as the most lackadaisical of all U.N. recognized environmental organizations).

It's pretty heavy stuff, and even more so when we learn (or at least I did) about the high levels of Mercury in dolphin meat being (get this) given away to children in the Japanese school system. So now this isn't only an issue of animal abuse but also a health emergency, being covered up by the Japanese government (an establishment depicted here as being just as apathetic if not more so than the IWC to this particular crisis). Adding to the intrigue is "The Cove's" mid-film detour, when it chooses to take a closer look at these dolphins, their stellar beauty and their almost intimidating intelligence.

These are truly majestic creatures, and humanizing them in the way the film does not only sets us up for the devastating emotional blow of its last act, but also transcends any accusation that the film merely objectifies these dolphins for the sake of its heart-rending drama. Louis Psihoyos' "The Cove" is passionate non-fiction cinema with a purpose: ending the mistreatment of dolphins, the hunting of which has become increasingly pointless and even dangerous. But it's also great cinema on an aesthetic level; the photography of the dolphins is shot with a poet's eye, not unlike the staggering nature footage in last year's Werner Herzog doc "Encounters at the End of the World." And the assemblage of interviews, archival videos and "covert ops," infiltrating the cove itself, makes for an informative, exciting and thought-provoking work that ranks as the most vital and best documentary of 2009 thus far. [B+] -Sam C. Mac

'Facebook The Movie' An Impressive Script; But Sounds Like A First Draft With A Long Way To Go

Ahh, the dreaded Facebook movie project -- titled "The Social Network" -- and possibly to be directed by David Fincher no less.

But it's actually not a film about finding friends, updating your status or wasting your time during the work day. The script penned by Aaron Sorkin ("A Few Good Men," "The West Wing," "Charlie Wilson's War") is actually based on the Harvard undergraduates that invented the social networking site and the drama that ensued. The title says it all: "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal." It's essentially about Mark Zuckerberg, the face behind Facebook and the four fellow students who say he stole their idea (there's been rumors that Michael Cera and Shia LaBeouf could star).

Initially everyone's thinking this is a disastrous premise, but there seems to be a ton of intrigue in the book. So is the script any good? Apparently, yes, it's impressive according to Scriptshadow has gotten ahold of the screenplay and reviewed it.

The first interesting factoid. When Scott Rudin hired Sorkin to write the screenplay the writer "had little to no knowledge of Facebook when he got the job. He's self-proclaimed computer ignorant, which makes some of the scenes in the script all the more remarkable."

It sounds like a modern day version of "Wall Street," in a way which is interesting considering a Wall Street sequel is on the way. " 'The Social Network' is a either a modern tragedy or a modern success story depending on how you look at it," he writes.

The basics? "This is a story about two friends - one a computer genius, the other a business expert - who began a website that became the fastest growing phenomenon in Internet history. Three years later, one was suing the other for 600 million dollars (or 1/30th of Mark Zuckerberg's worth). It's a story about greed, about obsession, about our belief that all the money in the world can make us happy. But it's also unpredictable, funny, touching, and sad. It gives us that rare glimpse into the improbable world of mega-success."

It's also a drama, but apparently much funnier than one would expect for a story about friendship betrayal. "The script is sprinkled with a lot more humor than I expected - to the point where I wondered if it should be classified as a comedy," Scriptshadow writes.

While Scriptshadow is impressed with the story, some of it sounds rather trite and cornball. The ending (Spoilers) concludes with Zuckerberg, a multi-millionaire in front of a computer, "all the money in the world and not one true friend to show for it." What's even worse, it ends with Zuckerberg on Facebook trying to "add friend" to a girlfriend that dumped him long ago. "Afterwards, despite the millions of daily operations requiring his attention at that moment, he waits for her to accept. He'll wait forever if he has to." Groan! Pardon our cackling laughter, but that's fromage.

Other concerns? It's 162 pages! (that's like a 3 and half hour movie, ok exaggerating, but long...the rule of thumb is a minute a page, but they always go longer than that) and there's apparently, no "discernible structure." Hello, "Moneyball"-like concerns. Umm, sounds like a first draft that is not getting greenlit anytime soon, frankly. But does Scriptshadow have the most recent draft? Probably, he's always got the most recent goods. It sounds like a good start, but it also sounds like one that's more still in-development than something you're going to see next year. But who knows, they could be working on this as we speak, but we would assume no studio in their right mind would green light a 162 page shooting script.

Trailer: 'Coco Avant Chanel'

Anne Fontaine's "Coco Avant Chanel" has a newish trailer. It's essentially a biopic of Coco Chanel before she became a world renowned fashion designer and in that respect, it feels, sounds and looks like what, "La Vie En Rose" was to French music, only for the Gallic fashion world. It appears to be part rebel tale, drama and love story. The picture also stars Alessandro Nivola who we think is great and vastly underrated.

Considering its release date, late September, a TIFF appearance could be possible, but then again, this one's been around internationally since the spring. Here's the synopsis, maybe the film will put Audrey Tautou on the map again, as she made quite the splash with "Amelie," but then sort of disappeared into the background shortly thereafter. Maybe she's just comfortable in smaller roles and or just French films.

Audrey Tautou (THE DAVINCI CODE, AMELIE) plays the legendary "Coco" Chanel in an enthralling exploration of her early life before she rose to worldwide fame as the most celebrated fashion designer of the 20th Century. We meet the young Gabrielle Chanel, illegitimate daughter of a traveling salesman who learns to sew in a Catholic orphanage before following her singing ambitions lead her to a cabaret club. It is here where Chanel earns the nickname Coco and also where she catches the eye of several high society gentlemen who would ignite her passion and become instrumental in the development of her remarkable career.

The film also features a beautiful-sounding score by Alexandre Desplat who has nominated at last year's Oscars for his work on "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" and will be heard later this year in Wes Anderson's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" and Terrence Malick's "The Tree Of Life."

"Coco Avant Chanel" will see a limited release on September 25.

Trailer For Robert Siegel's 'Big Fan' Debuts

"Big Fan," the directorial debut of Robert Siegel who is perhaps better known as the scribe of Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" and former editor-in-chief of The Onion, has unveiled it's first trailer and seemingly captures the film's creepy exploration of loneliness and obsession.

The film follows the story of a lonely, socially inept mid-30-something (Oswalt) with an unhealthy obsession for the New York Giants still living at home. His life is thrown into chaos when his favorite player, quarterback Quantrell Bishop, sends him to hospital after his over-zealousness to meet the star results in a severe beatdown which further puts the quarterback in hot water and out of action thus hurting his beloved Giants' prospects.

One comment which has resonated from the film's screenings on the festival scene thus far has been the hindering expectation of a lighter film on account of the film's leads, Patton Oswalt and Kevin Corrigan, being better known for comedic roles. This trailer will definitely set that straight.

We saw the film earlier in the year and felt that, while definitely not perfect, "Big Fan" was a solid, mostly engaging hat-tip to the 70's-outsider-milieu tale about loneliness and obsession featuring strong performances from Oswalt and Corrigan.

The film will begin its limited release in New York and Philadelphia on August 28, just in time for football season. Details on its subsequent expansion two weeks later can be found at the official site.

Zach Galifianakis In Line To Replace Jack Black In Todd Phillips' 'Man-Witch'

After the breakout success of "The Hangover" -- $205 million in the U.S. alone and still going! -- Zach Galifianakis is set to jump right into the deep end and is in line to replace Jack Black in Todd Phillip's "Man-Witch," a comedy about a man who discovers his supernatural abilities and begins teaching at an all-girls' witch school. Black dropped out of the project last summer.

The comedian/actor has also been linked with Phillip's "Due Date" - a pregnancy themed film which shares significant plot similarities with "The Hangover" namely a baby and a road trip - and another unknown comedy "Say Uncle" though has yet to commit to any project. Expect to see a whole lot more of this guy. [THR]

Commercial Director Rupert Sanders To Direct Blacklist Script Fave 'Low Dweller' For Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions

British filmmaker Rupert Sanders is in talks to helm "The Low Dweller," a film which centers on a Midwestern man who gets out of prison only to be haunted and pursued by a figure from his past.

Compared to "No Country For Old Men," the project will produced Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way and Ridley Scott's Scott Free Prods. and was subject to a bidding war last year when the Brad Ingelsby script was shopped around and eventually sold to Relativity and MGM for a seven figure sum. It also placed fifth on 2008's Black List of best-liked unproduced screenplays. [THR]

New Poster For 'District 9,' Beau Bridges Tops Cast For 'Columbus Circle'

A new poster for Neill Blomkamp's "District 9" has been unveiled. The film is produced by Peter Jackson and will see both director and producer at this year's Comic Con to present the film. [FirstShowing]

Virginia Madsen has joined indie comedy "Father of Invention" and will play an ex-wife the Kevin Spacey's protagonist. Co-starring Camilla Belle, Heather Graham and Craig Robinson, the film centers on a humble inventor-turned-egomaniacal billionaire who returns from a prison sentence to find his fortune spent and his wife remarried. [Variety]

A new trilogy of prequels to the "Blade" series focusing on Stephen Dorff's antagonist Deacon Frost is in the works with Stephen Norrington at the helm. Why? [ComingSoon]

Are they already scraping this deep in the barrel? Jeremy Garelick is set to rewrite and direct "Baywatch," a comedy based on the television series about buff lifeguards who patrol a beach in California. The film will be Garelick's directing debut who recently did an uncredited rewrite of Todd Phillips' "The Hangover." [Variety]


Beau Bridges has topped off the cast of "Columbus Circle," an indie thriller by George Gallo which centers on reclusive heiress Abigail, played by Selma Blair whose only contact in two decades have been her building's concierge (Kevin Pollak), with whom she communicates via notes, and long-time family friend and sole confidant Dr. Raymond Fontaine (Bridges). Abigail's world is turned upside-down though when a detective (Giovanni Ribisi) shows up to investigate a homicide next door and a new couple (Amy Smart and Jason Lee) moves in to that apartment. Decent cast, this could be something. [THR]

George Clooney Wants To Play Jack Ryan?

Kim Masters at the Daily Beast has a long story about how Sony dropped Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") for George Clooney (see his recent production shingle being set up under their aegis).

Buried on the page 2 of the article is this little mention of a certain political intrigue franchise that just won't die.

A source says he expressed interest in playing Jack Ryan when and if Paramount attempts to revive the Tom Clancy series. Clooney seems to recognize that at this time in the world and this time in his life (he’s pushing 50), it’s time for some commercial maintenance.

Weird to have that in there, considering the project is under Paramount, not Sony, and we suppose in this tight-buckling climate a safe move like this might help. But it sure aint' gonna help out Sony or at least not directly. Studio can't just let a bad franchise die. "Patriot Games" and "The Hunt For Red October" were good, but anything after that has been useless ("the get off my plane!" in "Clear & Present Danger" is as embarrassing as any Arnold Schwarzenegger line)*evidently that line is from "Air Force One," we didn't know there was a difference. It all becomes the same ol' shit to us.

People like Anne Thompson, think the graying Clooney is perfect casting for this role and it is age-wise, but we'd still rather see about 5,000 other original projects first, call us predictable. The whole idea? Meh.

45+ New Images From Lars Von Trier's 'Antichrist'

You want more "Antichrist," and more vile crud from the sick mind of Lars Von Trier, yes? Perhaps more shots of rusty scissors mutilating female genitalia or ball point hammers smashing innocent and unconscious penises?

Mmm, ok, you're probably not going to get that, but if you want to see more gorgeous frames from the film, shot in stunning black and white and color (vacillating back and forth sometimes, like LVT's noted inspiration on this picture Andrei Tarkovsky). There's no shots of the talking fox, but you do get a tiny peak at the the screeching crow and you do get more gorgeous and haunting looks Anthony Dod Mantle cinematography. "Antichrist" hits theaters in limited release on October 23. Presumably this New York, L.A. limited-run debut will be the full-on director's cut, and anything that comes after (especially On-Demand), will be a safer, non-genital mutilating edition. "Antichrist" stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a nameless couple who suffer the loss of a child and then escape to an Eden in the woods to heal their soul-crushing wounds, but in the forests, things take a turn for the creepy, horrific and strange. [Audillos]

'Moneyball'; The Backspin Continues; Plus a Look Back At Old Soderbergh Projects

At the risk of further beating a dead horse with with "Moneyball" reports we have to point out a few, small things.

There was that infamous email that made the rounds a week or two ago that allegedly came from Soderbergh's side of things on the picture's shut down.

Basically Scriptshadow posted it, and it was taken down due to legal action (various other sides had the same email posted in their comments section and those stories were pulled as well).

But David Poland, who wrote a great little, "closing the door on..." late last week that we were too busy to blog about over the Independence day weekend, addressed some of the issues in that email, whether consciously or not (though he surely had it fwd'd to him, no?)

Poland's piece does a few things we feel like we should have done in our last report, which is take the L.A. Times to task for lobbing softball questions at Sony Chief Amy Pascal and not asking tougher questions. It's totally true. The piece is a near blow-job and just gives Pascal a venue to air her side of the story, but it's certainly not a place to ask direct questions. Poland makes a lot of good points including the idea that some though Soderbergh was trying to make an art picture, which is clearly not the case.

"What so irks me about the ongoing stories is this bizarre notion that Soderbergh was somehow transforming this project from a $58 million studio movie into a personal art project. As I have noted before, Soderbergh knew exactly what was at stake for him and his career going into this movie. Success was more important to him on this film than on most of his recent films. It was the commercial lynchpin that would make it easier to move along with his more challenging, smaller projects."

He also simply questions the validity of the story coming from the Sony side of things and discusses things you've already heard at this point (whether or not Major League Baseball had or had not approved).

"The much-loved Zaillian draft had NOT been approved by MLB because of the many inaccuracies, starting with Billy Beane being a skirt-chaser and not a married man. Some insiders say that the changes that MLB had requested did not demand such a dramatic change and that the draft can still be adjusted in small ways that will get MLB approval. But there is no clear answer on this critical distinction."

Anyhow, it's worth a read, but might only make sense if you've followed the story closely. Another thing of note. The New York Daily News has an article on "Moneyball," from the baseball perspective and report that Soderbergh was really trying to give Oakland A's coach Art Howe, a fair shake in the film, because in the original book he was described as a "rube and a clown."

Poland seems to also be annoyed that Soderbergh seemingly took the brunt of the "Moneyball" because what really happened is de riguer in Hollywood.

"Movies die every day. Feelings and careers are hurt. (Over 200 people were put out of work unexpectedly by [the Moneyball] cancellation.) But the cheap slaps at Soderbergh are way over the top and as unnecessary as slapping down someone you just fired with gossipy attacks (even if accurate), adding insult to injury. Hollywood treats artists like shit because of money and ego. But there is no excuse for those of us who cover the industry to be equally venal."

Lastly, we read (finally) Soderbergh's 1999 book, "Getting Away With It: Or: The Further Adventures of the Luckiest Bastard You Ever Saw," this weekend, which is part Q&A love letter to director Richard Lester ("A Hard Day's Night," "The Knack," "Superman II & II"), part diary which echoes Poland's final quote sentiment and really puts the "Moneyball" situation into perspective. It charts the months between 1996-1997 -- the period right between completing "Schizopolis" and "Gray's Anatomy" and the nascent beginnings of "Out Of Sight" -- and discusses in the diary-like sections no less than four different projects that didn't come to fruition for no real reason other than politics, logistics, luck and timing (hello, Hollywood, hello life!).

- There was "Neurotica" a purported sequel to "Schizopolis" that Soderbergh called, "the stupidest idea since New Coke: a sequel to a film nobody wanted to see." He does talk about receiving an advance for it and spending that money elsewhere, so it appears it was more than just a pipe dream.
"A Confderacy of Dunces" - A Paramount project that Soderbergh spent a considerable amount of money wrangling the rights back from studio (suing them to do so and then settling), and eventually passed the project on to David Gordon Green, where it got tied up in too many
cooks syndrome and further legal issues (Soderbergh and his producing partner, were only given rights for a finite period of time). "Scott Rudin is making it impossible," he writes at one point. Slate did an excellent piece on the unraveling of this project.
"Toots And The Upside Down House" - A Henry Selick animated project that Soderbergh wrote and then got lost at the thick-headness of Fox execs who loved the script and then decided they didn't.
- A Charlie Chan project for Miramax, that never got past the treatment stage, but the studio and Bob Weinstien were interested at the time.
- "Human Nature" - A project potentially for Universal or Miramax that eventually would be made by Michel Gondry and Fine Line Features. Soderbergh was clearly thrilled with the script and met with Chris Kattan and Marisa Tomei for the parts that eventually went to Patricia Arquette and Rhys Ifans (he also met with David Hyde Pearce), but had to pass on the project because Jersey Films gave him a window to take "Out Of Sight," which he initially passed on and then returned to (but not after they tried to see if a few other directors were interested as well, including Cameron Crowe).
Other projects he worked on included heavy script rewrites for Guillermo del Toro's "Mimic" and the Ewan McGregor/Miramax film, "Nightwatch." You also gotta love that he describes "The Limey" as "Alain Renais making Get Carter."

Suffice to say, Poland is right. Movie's die everyday and he shouldn't get stuck with the baggage. Director's are like freelancers trying to entice studios into funding their projects and when one bites, four or five other projects generally move to the back of the line and whether those pictures will be of interest to anyone, let alone the director, a year or two later is usually the reason you never hear of them again.

So think of it this way, if Fincher takes the "Facebook" movie, don't be surprised if the Chef project and the Eliot Ness one die too. Again, there's still hope for "Cleo," despite the odds and the climate.

Did Johnny Depp's Impossible Schedule Force The Inclusion Of Two More Actors To Replace Ledger In 'Parnassus'?

Alright, the Vanity Fair article on Heath Ledger written by Peter Biskind ("Easy Riders & Raging Bulls") is out there and lots of it is going to cause a stir. Most of it comes from the rather outspoken Terry Gilliam and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" cinematographer, Nicola Percorini -- both of them good friends with Ledger.

But let's stick to the 'Parnassus' stuff for now and specifically getting Johnny Depp to step in for Ledger after he died of an accidental overdose in January of last year. Apparently it wasn't easy in the least and while Percorini and Gilliam don't quite trash talk Depp, the actor probably wouldn't love the way he was speaking about his handlers and team.

The story starts out with Pecorini and Gilliam flying out to L.A. to show him footage of 'Parnassus.' Pecorini said, "Johnny was really impressed by the footage of heath, which played a role in him moving his ass. He was in the position of being the saving angel, of rescuing Terry, avoiding another Terry disaster."

While Vanity Fair doesn't say it outright, the beginning of the story of salvaging the film starts out with a sentence that reads, "At that time, the director hoped he would need only one [actor], Depp, to replace Ledger." And then it goes into a long and detailed account of how scoring Depp was next to impossible because of his new stature and his handlers, lawyers, team, etc.

Amy Gilliam, the filmmakers daughter and a producer on the film, was tasked with the logistics of getting Depp on set and it was difficult to say the least. Gilliam said, his daughter "got stuck with dealing with the complexities of what it really means to get johnny post-'Pirates' anywhere"

Amy Gilliam recalls, "[Depp] was emailing back to say, 'Yes, yes, I'll do it', but everyone from his agents, lawyers, to his sisters (who run his company) were all saying the opposite."

"I don't think a lot of his handlers were happy," Gilliam the director said. "Our friend is an empire now. In the heart of these layers and layers of people around him is still Johnny. But the layers are there and so you have to peel the onion away. That's the sad thing about success."

And then the article goes on and on, really detailing just how hard it was to get Depp, presumably because the filmmakers talked about it at length.

Pecorini worked as a cinematographer on "The Brave," Johnny Depp's directorial debut from 1997 starring Marlon Brando that has never received a proper U.S. release and is said to be terrible (a friend of ours saw at TIFF in '97 and concurs). Percorini said dropping by for wine at his house back then, but now, it's near impossible. "A lot of people in his entourage saw coming to Vancouver as a burden. They were coming up with stupid excuses."

Wrangling the actor took weeks and they would bumrush his house to try and see him to no avail. And what isn't outwardly stated, but seems to be the case is, Depp's other commitments are what really created the need for three actors in "Doctor Parnassus" (in fact Colin Ferrell and Jude Law are only mentioned once in the extensive article and it's in the opening graph of a piece that's probably more than 4,000 words long). More evidence that this is true? According to this article, Gilliam only had Depp for a measly day and a half shoot. Also, apparently Colin Farrell has the most screen time of all the Ledger stand ins according to an EW article from a few weeks ago. It really feels like Depp was the starting point and then the filmmakers had to then make major adjustments, but it really doesn't feel like it was a three actor idea to begin with.

But we guess it turned out. Gilliam was worried that because he was so intensely preparing to play Dillinger in "Public Enemies,", he wouldn't get the part, but because, "He is so good, because he was so prepared, he was utterly brilliant," the filmmaker said.

The alleged "Gilliam curse" is brought up in the feature and the article notes there was lots m more crazy bad luck on 'Parnassus.' The producer Bill Vince died of cancer on June 21, 2008 and Gilliam was hit by a car in London's Soho and had to go to the hospital with a broken back.

As of this writing, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" still has no U.S. distribution, but presumably the filmmakers are still hoping to release this film in the fall as that's when it's getting released across Europe. [ImaginariumofParnasuss]

'In The Loop' Disses 'I Heart Huckabees' In The Credits For Being "Pretentious"

We saw this report on Variety this morning, about the British political satire, "In the Loop," directed by Armando Iannucci, starring James Gandolfini, which IFC Films will debut in theaters on July 24, and also premiere on cable video-on-demand later this month as well. More and more indies are doing that same-day 360-style debut pioneered by Mark Burnett, Steve Soderbergh and Magnolia Pictures (many thought this "changed the rules" of feature film releases; but granted, this release doesn't include DVD).

But perhaps more interesting to us is how it reminded us of a wild dig at the end of the film, which we saw during BAMCinemafest a few weeks ago, at "I Heart Huckabees."

Let's back up a sec. "In The Loop" is a political comedy in the vein of "The Office," that played to favorable reviews at Sundance earlier this year. We didn't fully love it. It's riotously funny at times, but as an extension/spin-off of a TV series -- Iannucci's British political BBC show "The Thick of It" -- it does feel incredibly episodic (as you'd imagine). But one unquestionably excellent element of the film is Scottish actor, Peter Capaldi who reprises his Malcolm Tucker character from that show, a highly aggressive and domineering pitbull Director of Communications for the British Government.

His character is savaging, caustic; dropping new forms of f-bombs and vulgarities that are laugh out loud funny. However, at the end of the picture, in the credits, there's a random dis at David O. Russell's "I Heart Huckabees" for no apparent reason that we could discern.

We can't quote what was said verbatim, but during the credits where they're showing the continuing adventures of these characters, there's a scene where Capaldi's Malcom rips into 'Huckbees,' for being highly "pretentious" (the words "utter shite" and "twattery" may have been used as well). Since we sort of agree with this sentiment (an overrated film 'Huckabees' is, that's for sure), we laughed hard, but there were more than a few audience members laughing and also turning their heads mouthing, "wtf?" It seemed like a very random and out of context moment.

So is it just an outtake from a scene that would have made more context within the picture? Iannucci simply putting O.Russell on blast? Or the director just using the credits to drop a little swipe at the existentialist comedy that he might particularly hate? No clue, but we're hoping someone asks Iannuci about it, or better even yet, O. Russell who wrote 'Huckabees' based on his interest in Buddhism and his growing spiritual interest in the early aughts. We're sure he'd have a fun response to say the least.

Update: A friend in the know writes in about some other deleted scenes in the film. Apparently there are other digs. "There is one where Jamie rips at 'There Will Be Blood' for having no blood, and another where Malcolm, about to get on a plane, says "The only time I get to see a movie is on a plane. It better not be that 'Atonement' shit or I'll be up at the cockpit with my box cutters'. "

Inspired Casting: Johnny Depp To Play Michael Jackson?

Ok, this dubious Contact Music report is total bullshit, but man, imagine if it wasn't?

Johnny Depp already almost got fired for playing his "Pirates Of the Caribbean" character as a gay and drunken Keith Richards, and his depiction of the Willy Wonka character in Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," was allegedly based on Michael Jackson.

So now apparently there's talks of a Michael Jackson biopic with Depp in the lead. Ha ha, god, Contact Music will write pretty much any old dust of rumor they have come across. Amusing stuff though, for sure. Apparently an "insider" said, "There are a number of offers being drawn up with a variety of angles to tell Michael's incredible life story. Some involve using archive footage of Michael and his family and footage from his live shows."

Apparently Jamie Foxx's name has been thrown around too. "A couple would even have an actor cast to play Michael. Foxx has been mentioned, as has Johnny Depp. It all depends on how his family decide to honor him."

Don't believe any of this for a second. But, we think it would be an amazing role for Depp to play. Like, he'd have to win an Academy Award, hands down, right?

Asked about playing the King of Pop in recently, (the rumor gets around fast) Depp denied that Jackson inspired his Willy Wonka. "I wish I could say that I was inspired by him for a role, I was inspired by him because I think he was a great artist but he was not the inspiration for Willy Wonka contrary to what most people say," he said. As for playing MJ? Yeah, not gonna happen. "No no no, I never ever thought of playing Michael Jackson in a film, I think if anyone should play Michael Jackson in a film it should've been Michael Jackson."

Joan Jett Micromanaging Kristen Stewart To Tears On 'Runaways' Set?

Yeah, it's gossipy, but somehow we find it amusing, the idea that Joan Jett is so invested in getting the biopic of "The Runaways" right, she's sitting on the sidelines grilling Kristen Stewart until she breaks down in tears. Or allegedly anyhow. You would think director, Floria Sigismondi would be like, "uuhh, fuck off?"

The two have been spotted together countless times, have become bff's and apparently have been recording music for the soundtrack together as well. But maybe the friendship is getting too close?

The actress allegedly broke down crying after Jett gave her a "hard time" during filming in a bid to improve her performance, prompting the rocker to apologize.

A source tells the New York Daily News, "Joan just wants Kristen to play an authentic version of herself, so she needled her a little bit too much. But she apologized when she realized how upset Kristen got."

Sigismondi probably only has Stewart for a limited amount of time. Doesn't she have to start shooting another "Twilight" movie in about 3.5 seconds? "The Runaways" will likely hit theaters sometime in 2010.

'Jennifer's Body' Soundtrack To Feature Panic At The Disco, Dashboard Confessional, Silversun Pickups & Little Boots

Speaking of music, the trailer of "Jennifer's Body" -- the teen horror comedy written by Diablo Cody, starring Megan Fox -- also notes that the film's soundtrack will feature the likes of the previously announced All Time Low as well as Panic At The Disco,White Lies, Dashboard Confessional, Cobra Starship, Silversun Pickups and Little Boots - who is surprisingly the only female artist named despite Cody's views of horror as a feminist genre and the trailer's musical reflection of that.

Randall Poster (all the Wes Anderson films, any movie that's remotely hip) is doing the soundtrack supervision. Why are you surprised at all? He gets all the good music supe jobs. We also hear that The Sword might end up in the film, but we're not sure if the Austin rockers made the cut or what. Amanda Seyfriend, Johnny Simmons and Adam Brody co-star. "Jennifer's Body" hits theaters September 18.

Diablo Cody's 'Jennifer's Body' Gets An Early Red-Band Trailer

Courtesy of ShockTillYouDrop, here is an early red-band trailer for the upcoming Karyn Kusama helmed, Diablo Cody scribed horror-comedy "Jennifer's Body."

Starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody and Johnny Simmons, the film follows the story of a popular but demonically possessed teenager (Fox) who starts to kill off her high school classmates while her nerdy best friend (Seyfried) attempts to thwart her ill-intentioned efforts and that of the Satan-worshiping emo rock band who transformed her friend.

The trailer, however, is not the same trailer which will hit theaters this weekend with "Bruno" though as noted by Kusama, Cody and Jason Reitman (who revealed on his Twitter of his involvement in the film's trailer ) in their message to STYD:

"Fox is putting a trailer of 'Jennifer's Body' in front of 'Bruno' this Friday. Great, right? Only problem is it's not our trailer. It's kind of a straight horror preview and while we're sure it'll appeal to many of you, we wanted to make sure you guys got to see our cut... Lets call it the "filmmaker's cut". We think it captures the comedy and scares of the horror films we grew up on - a kind of nostalgia for when horror films were fun. Can't wait to show you the whole film... In the meantime, here's the red band trailer we wanted our fans to see." - Karyn, Diablo, and Jason

Are the trio of Kusama, Cody and Reitman possibly undermining the studio in releasing this trailer? Was the studio-made trailer so bad they had to preemptively release this to stop bad buzz? Or is it, as they claim, simply under-representative? Guess we'll have to wait and see but the trailer at hand here certainly harks back to fun horror films of old and, at the same time, is run through with Cody-isms.

We read the script last year and loved its wickedly wry tone though fears have since come forth regarding Kusama's direction. This may be personified by the possible inclusion of a make out scene between Fox and Seyfried whose two characters exhibited unconsummated sexual tension in the script. Judging for the trailer though, it looks like that has changed as has the name of the emo rock band who have evidently gone from Soft Shoulder to Low Shoulder. However, dialogue-wise expect the exact same. Megan Fox told MTV last month that because Diablo Cody was now an Oscar-winner, the script had to be followed to the letter (and you can hear some of the exact lines in the trailer like the "buff your situation").

The trailer features "Cherrybomb" by the Runaways (all the rage these days we guess) and The Waitresses' "I Know What Boys Like." The film hits theaters September 18 which makes it a pretty good lock to appear at the Toronto International Film Festival which runs September 10-19.