Soderbergh Discusses Getting Into A Hot Tub With Matt Damon And Michael Douglas For 'Liberace'

Yes, we're hit-whoring through our gay readers, what of it? Besides, you don't need to be gay to enjoy the leathery visage of one Mr. Michael Douglas, who will star as the legendarily flamboyant musician in "Liberace." Steven Soderbergh is currently in pre-production on "Knockout" but still has plans for the ambitious biopic to shoot afterwards.

Matt Damon is playing Scott Thorson, Liberace's secret lover who engaged in a globetrotting romance with the performer. After their relationship deteriorated, he filed a massive lawsuit against his ex-lover, before watching Liberace die of AIDS. Thorson's book, "Behind the Candelbra: My Life With Liberace" is said to be the inspiration for the film.

Soderbergh discussed the movie with MTV, stating, "It's told from the perspective of Scott. We have this framing device in which he's laying [the story] out for us. As a narrator, it feels like he has an agenda — and then when you get to the ending you realize, 'Oh, it's not what I thought." Later on he adds, "I think it's going to be really funny... it lands in a really unexpected way. The ending is surprisingly emotional. It will be unexpected. It ends really, really well." There's also some red hot talk about a hot tub scene, we recommend clicking for more.

Hm. Sounds a lot like the noted "crowd-pleaser" "The Informant!" which took a similarly loopy look at a real-life incident and poked fun at the absurdity of it before landing an unexpected dramatic note. We liked "The Informant!" but it wasn't really the most commercial film around. Steven Soderbergh is always interesting, but without those "Ocean's" films, his ideas of a "one for them" film are a bit off-the-wall, and post-"Moneyball" we don't want to see him struggling to get stuff made. Particularly an absurd gay showbusiness romance.

Jamie Foxx, Taylor Hackford Hope Lightning Strikes Twice, Re-Team For Mike Tyson Biopic

We know Jamie Foxx has a bit of an ego (and he's somewhat entitled- the guy can act), but this is just ridiculous. Speaking to MTV, he claims he's reached out to Mike Tyson regarding a dramatization of the life of the legendary heavyweight champion, and with his blessing, he'll re-team with "Ray" director Taylor Hackford on a movie.

"I've reached out to Mike, and I've been open about it," Foxx says. "I think that, of all the biopics that are out there, he has the most interesting story that no one has ever heard." While sounding like he's picking biopics off a supermarket aisle, Foxx seems to only be discussing a pipe dream, though MTV adorably presupposes Foxx's musings are already an in-development project. Foxx looks and sounds nothing like Tyson, though, something I imagine Hackford would instantly be aware of.

Foxx's statements about how this story seems untold is also false. For one, there's the trouble with making a biopic of anybody in the media age. Cameras followed Mike Tyson wherever he went, and as such, there is so much footage of the man out there, a man who led a disastrous, but very public life, that there's barely a need for anyone to truly re-examine it, especially not the team behind the thuddingly-obvious "Ray." And then there's James Toback's final word on the subject, this year's "Tyson," which let the man speak in his own words about his hardships, revealing a compelling but seriously damaged man. To want to make a movie out of Tyson's story after that brilliant picture is almost disrespectful in a way. If you haven't seen it, get to it as quick as you can.

Gary Ross Just Says 'Fuck It,' Signs Onto 'Venom' Film

In the late seventies, the rise of the modern blockbuster and the fall of companies like United Artists led to a shift in the balance of power from filmmakers to studios. This shift continued even through the ballyhooed independent era, where the arthouses have now been co-opted by corporate interests. The only films that place power in the hands of the artist behind the camera are so independent they are filming in your neighbor's backyard today, and screening at the local library tomorrow, and never anywhere else again.

This is a long-winded way of saying filmmakers are being strong-armed into making more shit than they ever have been, and it comes to a head when Sony actually hires Gary Ross to direct and write "Venom." Ross isn't the most accomplished filmmaker, his work representing an amalgamation of the conservative beliefs and special effects of Robert Zemeckis and the corny Americana Sam Mendes keeps trying to DRAMATICALLY SUBVERT, but he's a guy with a voice. More importantly, he's a guy with his heart usually in the right place, and a guy who we figured after "Seabiscuit" could write his own check. If the guy wasn't going to make any good pictures, he could maybe take another artist under his wing or support a worthy filmmaking cause, much like Zemeckis mentored promising up-and-comer Gil Kenan ("Monster House").

"Venom," meanwhile, is dealing with one of the most repugnant, vile and creatively bankrupt creations in superhero comic history, one that was a big part in nearly killing the comics' industry in the mid-nineties. He was only featured briefly in "Spider-Man 3," by far the least-liked in that series, due to director Sam Raimi being strongarmed (there we go again) into giving the popular villain some screen-time, something Raimi has gone on record as regretting. The time for a "Venom" movie has long passed, as New Line had originally developed a story for the character independent of "Spider-Man" with David Goyer onboard, only to abandon the transparently inane concept.

While Eddie Brock took over the mantle of the character in "Spider-Man 3," the new film is expected to feature a new Venom, as the alien symbiote has taken over many different hosts over the years in the comics. Brock was known as it's most common association, as the creature, armed with bloodlust and a wealth of knowledge about Spider-Man, murdered innocents frequently and indiscriminately before being brought to justice time and time again. The symbiote has spawned other creations too, each one more violent and pointless than the last, most famously the serial killer cliche known as Carnage. Spider-Man has a rich gallery of rogues and villains with colorful costumes, interesting motivations and engaging backstories. Venom and Carnage are not a part of that.

Ross was long attached to "Tokyo Suckerpunch," where he would have directed his "Seabiscuit" star Tobey Maguire alongside Anne Hathaway. When Hathaway dropped out, Ross, who penned "Big" and his directorial debut "Pleasantville," took the whore-ish offer to re-write "Spider-Man 4." Apparently his Spidey-centric ideas were so strong that Sony felt he should re-write their "Venom" script, from "Zombieland" writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, before getting behind the camera. To which Ross answered by waking up on a boathouse at 3 PM, shrugging his shoulders, leaving his ugly wife, buying a giant bag of coke and saying, "Fuck it, guys, I give up. Sure. Let's do a trilogy."

Update: Some actual details on Gary Ross' "Venom," have emerged. As you'd imagine, Topher Grace who played the Venom character in "Spider-Man 3," will likely not return. Ross is not only directing, he's writing and re-writing a script penned by Jamie Vanderbilt and David Lindsay-Abaire. Vanderbilt is currently scripting the fifth and sixth installments of "Spider-Man," and with Raimi looking to do 'Spidey 4' and then move on, editions 5 and 6 are still likely going to be reboots. Even though Marvel was recently bought by Disney, Sony still own Spider-Man characters from that film universe in perpetuity, so that's how they still have a hold of this one.

One things for certain. Sony/Columbia realizes that "Spider-Man," is a good meal ticket and as much as a "Venom," movie sounds terrible on paper, to them, it's just leveraging the "Spider-Man," universe and exploiting it for every dollar it's worth. Even if Raimi does ditch after "Spider-Man 4," which $1,000 dollars says he will, no perturbed fans are going to likely stop this one from going forward with a whole new cast and creative team.

Update: Mike Mills' 'Beginners' To Shoot In November With Ewan McGregor & Christopher Plummer; Synopsis Revealed

Maybe the most intriguing news of the day comes from a tweet from Production Weekly, who confirmed our report over the summer that Ewan McGregor was teaming up with "Thumbsucker" director Mike Mills (who cut his teeth as a designer and music video director for bands like Sonic Youth, Air, the Beastie Boys, Cibo Matto, the Jon Spencer Explosion and many other '90s hipster bands, many of them centered in New York).

The site states the name of the movie as "Beginners," and that Christopher Plummer will co-star.

The movie shoots next month in LA, and we'll be keeping an eye on this as more details emerge cause there's not a lot right now. The only details we've heard so far is McGregor suggesting it's a smallish indie production (duh). ["It's] meant to be in LA. [It's] a really interesting story. and quite a small film."

Update: Movieline noticed our handiwork and did their own digging and found the synopsis, kudos to them: "McGregor plays a young man rocked by two announcements from his elderly father (Plummer)…one, that he has terminal cancer, and two, that he’s coming out of the closet. The role of Plummer’s handsome younger boyfriend has not yet been cast." They also crack wise that Jim Carrey should get the part given that he and McGregor play bumchums in "I Love You Phillip Morris."

"Thumbsuckers," was underrated so we're looking forward to what Mills comes up with next. In related news /Film has dug up one of Mills short films from 1999 called, "The Architechture of Reassurance" that stars Kelly Garner (who was also in "Thumbsuckers"). You can watch it below in three different parts. - Oli Lyttelton

Paul Schrader To Shoot Bollywood Family Film (WTF), 'Xtreme City'

Screenwriter/ director/ Calvanist, Paul Schrader has given Hollywood the middle finger and decided to head east for his next film project. The writer/director behind such fare as "Taxi Driver," "The Last Temptation Of Christ," "Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters," and "Auto Focus" has found some new buds in Mushtaq Shiekh, creative director at Sahara One, one of India's largest media conglomerates and Dwight Manley, the former sports agent and noted rare coin collector (seriously) who will be financing the film.

Entitled "Xtreme City" (apparently, it's so extreme they don't need the missing "e"), the film will center around a U.S. ranger who teams with an Indian commando to rescue the ranger's sister-in-law who has been kidnapped by a Mumbai crime lord. The film will be bilingual (Hindi and English), and like other Bollywood films, will feature a delirious mix of drama, thriller, comedy and yes, even song and dance numbers.

However, this will be a family film so Schrader's trademark of graphic violence and lurid sexual themes will be not be figuring in this time around. And if you're thinking this is just Schrader joining a work-for-hire job, think again. Apparently, the idea came from the director himself after he was approached to do another film but didn't like the material he was offered. The film is budgeted at $10 million and will shoot next year in New York, the Persian Gulf and Mumbai. There is no details on casting yet, but the producer Sheikh wants "marquee thesps from India and the West" (though with that budget, his definition of "marquee" will need to be very flexible).

It's hard not to see why Schrader has turned to India for his next film. His last two films ("Adam Resurrected" and "The Walker") were completely ignored, and in the case of "Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist" Schrader went through the kind of studio meddling usually reserved for a Terry Gilliam project. What is intriguing is that he's fully embracing the tropes of popular Indian cinema and shooting something based off his own idea. Either Schrader is newly invigorated or is just itching to direct something, anything; but in any case we're always rooting for the guy, and we can't wait to see the result of a Schrader helmed Bollywood film no matter how strange it seems.

38th Festival Du Nouveau Cinema Starts Today

The 38th annual Festival Du Nouveau Cinema launches today in Montreal, featuring over 250 films from 48 countries including recent work from such heavyweights as Lars von Trier, Lone Scherfig, Catherine Breillat, Pedro Almodovar, Manoel de Oliviera, Harmony Korine, Bong Joon-ho and more. The festival, which runs until October 18th, is Canada's longest running festival and often acts as the Quebec debut for many of Cannes and Toronto Film Festival's biggest buzz films.

As we take a deep breath and get ready to sustain multiple screenings per day, stayed tuned to this page for updates and reviews over the next week and a half. While we can't offer our thoughts on the festival's opening film, "Les Dames En Bleu" by Claude Demers (curiously being shown without English subtitles), here are two reviews of films we managed to see at press screenings before the start of the festival:

"Handsome Harry" - The first feature film from Bette Gordon (not counting 2003's made-for-TV "Life On The Line") in a decade is a curiously empty drama of sexual identity that frankly feels every bit as old as the ten years between the director's films. The story is set in motion when Thomas Kelley, a dying Navy veteran (Steve Buscemi in a throwaway role) calls upon his old crew mate Harry Sweeney (Jamey Sheridan) to ask him to seek out the forgiveness of another colleague, Kagan (Campbell Scott), who they, and they rest of their crew gay bashed over thirty years ago, leaving him permanently disfigured. Harry reluctantly agrees and sets out on a journey to visit the other members of the crew who were present at the assault as he tries to get a clear picture of what happened oh so long ago, before confronting Kagan himself. As Harry visits the other Navy toughs, each is dealing with their guilt from so long ago in a variety of obvious cliches such as religion, academia or outright homophobia (shock! one of them has a gay son!). By the time the already creaking drama gets to its all too predictable "twist" ending, the film is so deflated by the script's lazy and routine stab at this material that the final meeting between Harry and Kagan lacks the electricity it so deserves. While this kind of film might've been somewhat intriguing in the mid-90s it's borderline embarrassing in 2009. Queer cinema has practically leaped into the mainstream, offering far more complexity, emotional resonance and bravery than this film feels entitled to. [C]

"Prince Of Broadway" - The third feature by writer/director Sean Baker ("Take Out", "Four Letter Words") continues in the minimal, neo-realist vein of his previous films. Uniquely set in the rarely seen New York world of bootleg apparel, the film follows one hustler (and illegal immigrant), Lucky (Prince Adu), who is confronted one day at work by an ex-girlfriend who arrives with a baby in tow, claims it's his, leaves the child with him and then takes off. Lucky, of course, is utterly floored proclaiming he can't be the father and scrambling to keep working, while taking care of the child.

Unfortunately, while Lucky questions his paternity, the obvious thing for him to do - to get a DNA test - is inexplicably dragged out for nearly an hour, until the end of the film. Until then, Baker takes an unwise detour into a subplot involving Lucky's boss, Levon (Karren Karagulian) and the dissolution of his marriage. Thematically, Baker has a lot on his plate - illegal immigration, exploitation of illegal workers (despite their friendship, there is an astonishing gap in living conditions between Lucky and Levon), the plight of young parents, copyright law - and wisely Baker's script doesn't take to the podium. But unfortunately, it's hands off to the point of inertia. By the time the credits roll, "Prince Of Broadway," which has spent the better part of 90 minutes approaching a "Traffic"-like sprawl on its subject, doesn't accumulate any kind of impact. The ending rings false, tying a big, digestible bow around a film that could've and should've been so much more raw and real. [C]

Review: 'All Tomorrow's Parties' Invites Die Hard Fans Only

Over the last ten years, with the music industry scrambling to deal with the seismic shift in the way listeners consume music, it has been interesting to note that live concerts have not only remained steady, but thrived. Each year, fans have an incredible crop of behemoth music festivals to choose from ranging from legendary affairs like Glastonbury or Lollapalooza, new kids on the block like the Pitchfork Music Festival or standard setters like Coachella. Each of these festivals draw huge crowds, big names and of course, corporate sponsorship. However, through all of this, a small group of music enthusiasts in the U.K. have, year-after-year curated their own music festival, that, while not boasting headlining acts like Radiohead or Coldplay, has a dedicated fanbase who fly from all over the world just to attend.

All Tomorrow's Parties was founded in 1999 by Barry Hogan, offering a distinct alternative to the big-stage-in-a-field setup that makes up most festivals. Taking in holiday camps in scenic England, and featuring a lineup curated by musicians, artists or fans, All Tomorrow's Parties — or ATP as it has come to be known — is a sponsor-free, music-first event celebrating all things noise, punk, avant and awesome in the underground music scene. Now, to coincide with their tenth anniversary, a titular documentary has been released to try and capture some of what makes ATP such a unique event.

Using reams of footage shot by a variety of attendees, from fans to musicians, the producers wisely chose Jonathan Caouette to make some sense of what they had. The director made his name with his astonishing autobiographical debut with "Tarnation," in which he culled still photos, super-8 and home video in a sharply edited full length film (and if you haven't seen it, please move it to the top your Netflix queue right now). He applies those same skills here, weaving vintage videos of the holiday camps with current videos of band performances, fans and shots of the grounds as they are today. It offers a striking contrast, seeing the bucolic grounds used by everyday English citizens being used a stomping ground for some of the most out-there contemporary music.

Unfortunately, despite Caouette's virtuosic editing skills, "All Tommorow's Parties" is disappointingly unengaging. While the first third of this already too short film (it runs a mere 82 minutes) is energized by the mix of footage, the frequent cuts to vintage newsreels or holiday footage becomes a tired crutch as the film goes on, and one begins to wish that Caouette had excised some of the repetitive juxtaposition to give more screen time to bands like Shellac or Boredoms who are afforded far too little screen time. In fact, it's a little puzzling which bands are given extended screentime — notably Grinderman (who deliver a pretty killer version of "No Pussy Blues") and Portishead — and compared to others who we are given just brief glimpses (pretty much everyone else). There really seems to be no rhyme or reason to the process. Another nagging issue throughout the film is that none of the onscreen commenters are identified. So you have guys like David Pajo (Slint, Papa M) or Daniel Johnston talking about the festival, but unless you know who they are, you're pretty much left in the dark. In fact, only the live performances get a small block of text to tell us who they are, and even then, there are some omissions from time to time.

However, the biggest failing of the film is that is offers absolutely no perspective on the festival from any angle. There are no interviews with music critics with their opinions on how ATP differs from the glut of festivals out there. There no substantive interviews with the founders, curators or musicians on their experiences or with the legion of fans, many of whom make pilgrimages just to attend about what the event means to them. When we see footage of artists who are outside the distinctly indie focus of the festival - GZA, Saul Williams, Seasick Steve for example - it's almost absurd that we get no interviews with them about their feelings about ATP. Or when we have veterans like Nick Cave, Iggy Pop and Patti Smith tearing it up on stage it would be nice to get their candid thoughts on something as special as ATP emerging in this musical climate. When we see footage of Lightning Bolt absolutely slaying (this is indeed one of the film's best live moments) just outside the chalets or Grizzly Bear performing on the beach to a small crowd, the film aches for someone, anyone to comment on what this means to them personally or professionally. The film takes the event's uniqueness for granted, and in doing so, shortchanges any opportunities to really articulate the ongoing appeal of this repeatedly sold out, annual, event.

Even though we're exactly the target audience for this film, "All Tomorrow's Parties" was a distinct letdown. Even with its brief running time, the film's format becomes a slog after an hour as the format of vintage clips/fan footage/live performance, even with Caouette's superb editing, loses its impact with each minute. "All Tomorrow's Parties" enters from a singular angle of being a fly-on-the-wall documentary and never deviates. The film's scope is ridiculously limited, focusing exclusively on the event in Minehead, and never even acknowledging that the festival has since launched U.S. and Australian versions on an annual basis, or has added special series' like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" or "Don't Look Back" concerts. "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a fan-only, missed opportunity that will frankly be of interest only to those who have attended the festival and are looking for a belated souvenir. [C]

The film is currently embarking on a series of one-off screenings and festival appearances before hitting DVD on November 2nd. You can find screening times and pre-order info at the film's website.

We would also be remiss in not mentioning that Pavement have been confirmed as both the curators and headliners for next year's festival, adding one more bit of news to the most overhyped reunion in recent years. We're frankly tired of hearing about it already and they haven't even played a show yet. Doesn't anybody remember their buds coming back from one of Pavement's shows back in the day completely underwhelmed? That said, there is a perverse irony in the anticipation we're feeling for a bunch of subtly pot-bellied, mid-thirties hipsters singing along to "Cut Your Hair."

Here's the trailer (which actually is pretty representative of how the film is cut):

New U.S. Trailer For 'The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus,' Plus Gilliam Q&A From TIFF '09

A new U.S. trailer for Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus," has arrived and it's pretty much the same as the last one and speaks for itself. If you like this sort of thing — goofy, in our minds — more power to you. We saw it at TIFF and didn't care for it much, not because it is silly (silly can be fine if executed properly), but basically because it's just a bit shambolic and slightly incomprehensible. The effects are also quite... ungood to say the least. Just saying all this will get us in more hot water with the Gilliam devotees though, but we hope "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" is a much better effort. Our fingers are crossed and we're still holding out hope.

Something we forgot to post in all the TIFF madness. We stuck around for the Q&A with Gilliam after the 'Parnassus' screening and recorded the entire thing. It's interesting and worth a listen though if you're a huge 'Parnassus' or Gilliam fan you've probably heard these quotes before. Cue peanut gallery who never post here, but apparently have entitlement and ownership issues with this film.

Marlon Wayans Takes Over For Eddie Murphy In 'Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said' Biopic

In a move that seemingly confirms Eddie Murphy's commitment to taking on crap work and Marlon Wayans sometimes-bid to be taken seriously (every few years? See "Requiem For a Dream"), the duo have switched places on the Bill Condon to-be-directed biopic of Richard Pryor, titled, "Richard Pryor: Is it Something I Said."

In the works for several years (we have a script lying around too, but who knows how out of date it is now) the project gained traction earlier this year when Bill Condon ("Dreamgirls, "Kinsey") came on board and confirmed the participation of Eddie Murphy in the lead role playing Pryor, a portrait he used to do quite convincingly in his stand-up days.

Condon led Murphy to an Academy Award nomination for "Dreamgirls," in 2007, but perhaps the sting of losing left the comedian cold on the idea of laying himself bare once again on screen. After all, there is another "Beverley Hills Cop" movie to make. Whatever the reasoning is. Murphy is officially out and Marlon Wayans is now officially in his place.

Is Wayans going to try and finally transition into Jamie Foxx's role of comedian-turned-serious-actor? Does he have the mettle to pull this off in a leading role? Condon must think so, but we're not entirely convinced yet. Though according to Entertainment Weekly, Wayans blew away "the producers away with a 13- min screen test where he transformed into Pryor.”

EW first reported that Wayans was in discussions to take over the role and Hitflix confirmed today that he indeed has the role. This is a Sony Pictures project via Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company (not Fox Searchlight as some had reported, but it appears they were onboard when Murphy was attached, so was Paramount at one point) and it's currently budgeted at $20 million. If all goes well they hope to be shooting next spring.

New Line to Reboot 'Vacation' Franchise

Well, it had to happen at some point. New Line have announced that they're developing a new entry in the "Vacation" series. The project, to be produced and, possibly, directed by David Dobkin ("Wedding Crashers"), will focus on Rusty Griswold, the character variously played by Anthony Michael Hall, Johnny Galecki and Ethan Embry in earlier entries in the series, who is now grown and has a family of his own. The intention is that original Griswold parents, Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, would reappear as grandparents, making it, as Empire pointed out, both a sequel and a reboot - the comedy version of J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek."

Personally, we have no real attachment to the series, but it seems like the studio are going about this in the right way - they're looking "to make a movie that skews more towards "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" or "Little Miss Sunshine" than "RV" or "Are We There Yet?"" Plus, Chevy Chase is killing it for the first time in twenty years in the brilliant sitcom "Community" (seriously, if you haven't seen it yet, it's the funniest half hour on air at the moment), so the timing's pretty good.

The Playlist's 11 Most Anticipated Films Of The London Film Festival

We wrote a few weeks back about the launch of the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival, and, with the festival kicking off next week, and our shiny accreditation pass picked up, we've delved into the program to look at some of the big films, and the hidden gems, that we'll be covering. We're discounting anything we covered at Cannes, and films on the similar list we put together for Toronto — otherwise, the likes of "Mother," "Up In The Air," "Like You Know It All," "Valhalla Rising" and "Tales Of The Golden Age" would be right up there.

"Fantastic Mr Fox"
The biggest unknown quantity, and the highest-profile world premiere, comes with the opening night movie, Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr Fox." Opinions have been pretty fiercely divided on this one since the trailer premiered, particularly over the handmade visual aesthetic, but we're still pretty keen. Having read the script, it's not going to win over any Anderson-haters (and we have literally no idea if any children will go and see the thing). But on the page at least, it's as effortlessly inventive and funny as the best of Anderson's work, and could mark a real return to form for the director. Plus, a score by Alexandre Desplat (Benjamin Button) and songs by Jarvis Cocker? It'll at least be manna for the ears.
If You Like This... Closing night film "Nowhere Boy" also has potential, but we're yet to be convinced by Aaron Johnson as the young John Lennon. Also on the animated front, we've got the European premiere of the 3-D version of "Toy Story 2," and the intriguing "Metropia," a Scandinavian dystopian sci-fi animation with the voices of Vincent Gallo, Stellan Skarsgaard and Juliette Lewis

"44-Inch Chest"
"Sexy Beast" is one of the best gangster movies of the last decade, and writers Louis Mellis and David Scinto have returned to the genre, with acclaimed photographer and commercials director Malcolm Venville taking the helm. When Colin (Ray Winstone) discovers his wife is leaving him for a younger man (top French actor Melvil Poupaud), he puts together the old gang, a who's who of top British character actors - John Hurt, Ian McShane, Tom Wilkinson and Stephen Dillane - to kidnap his rival. Expect stylish visuals, plenty of blood and the c-word used instead of punctuation. There's a few lukewarm reviews coming out of the film's premiere at the Sydney Film Festival, but they're also terribly written, so we're gonna keep the faith...
If You Like This... Another British thriller with an all-star cast is "Glorious 39," by TV mastermind Stephen Poliakoff, set on the eve of the second world war, and featuring the likes of Bill Nighy, David Tennant, Julie Christie and Romola Garai. Also British and with big names: "Cracks," with Eva Green, directed by Ridley Scott's daughter Jordan, and horror thriller "The Disappearance of Alice Creed," with Eddie Marsan and Gemma Arterton

"Bunny and the Bull"
Bonkers comedy series "The Mighty Boosh" has developed something of a cult showing in America after debuting on Adult Swim earlier in the year, and Boosh director Paul King reunites with many of the cast members from that show on "Bunny and the Bull." A road movie through Europe that all takes place inside the same flat, the comedy seems to take a lot of visual cues from the likes of Michel Gondry, and stars tremendous new talent Edward Hogg (from Sundance hit "White Lightnin'"). If it works, it could be a huge cult hit, if not, it'll be unbearable, but the brief preview clips we've seen mean we won't miss it.
If You Like This... Other fresh British filmmaking talents have films premiering - from "The Scouting Book For Boys," debut feature from Tom Harper, director of the excellent short film "Cubs", the widely praised Edinburgh film festival hit "Kicks" and the directorial debut of actor David Morrissey, "Don't Worry About Me," which has a kind of "Before Sunrise" feel to it, from the look of it.

"American: The Bill Hicks Story"
With the looming threat of Russell Crowe taking on the part of legendary comedian Bill Hicks, it was only a matter of time before someone stepped in with a feature documentary. Hicks is a genuine great, his story has real drama to it, and the technique seems interesting - the film mixes interviews with animation. It seems long for a documentary (nearly two hours...), but if the filmmakers are able to add something new to the subject, rather than canonizing the man, it'll be more than worth it.
If You Like This... Legendary documentarian Julien Temple returns to the music world hot on the heels of his Joe Strummer film with "Oil City Confidential," focusing on the music of British pub rock band Dr Feelgood, and on the non-fiction front, there's also going to be screenings of Ondi Timoner's "We Live In Public," Frederick Wiseman's "La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet" and post-punk filmmaking documentary "Blank City."

"Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno"
In the great list of unfinished projects, alongside Orson Welles' "The Other Side of the Wind" and Terry Gilliam's "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" is "L'Infer" the lost film by Henri-Georges Clouzot, the genius behind "Les Diaboliques" and "The Wages of Fear." Clouzot was given an unlimited budget to make "L'Infer," and produced extraordinary test footage, but the shoot collapsed, and the film was never finished. "Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno" combines this test footage with rushes from the shoot and recreations with contemporary actors, and attempts to finally complete the movie. Word from Telluride is pretty great, and anyone one with an interest in Clouzot should see it, we imagine.
If You Like This... Experimental picture "Double Take," which 'does for Alfred Hitchcock what Orson Welles did for himself in his myth-making "F for Fake,"' according to the festival's programme [ed. note: I've seen this, it's fantastic and need to write a review].

"White Material"
Her last film "35 Shots Of Rum" hit limited release a few weeks back (we've seen it, and it's typically great — we wrote about the trailer a little while back), but Claire Denis has already knocked out a new movie. The director was raised in colonial Africa, and returns to the subject for the first time since her debut feature "Chocolat" (not the Johnny Depp one...). With a cast including Isabelle Huppert, Christopher Lambert and Isaac De Bankole, the plot seems to be looking at very contemporary African concerns, teaming with cutting-edge novelist Marie N'Diaye, and it looks to be darker than some of her recent work. It's picking up great reviews from Venice, and Denis' never made an uninteresting film, particularly when teamed with a score from regular collaborators Tindersticks, so we're all over this.
If You Like This... Documentary "Mugabe and the White African" is looking at a similar subject, while other legendary French directors showing films at the festival include Patrice Chereau's "Persecution," with Romain Duris.

"Bluebeard"
We're not 100% enamored of everything that Catherine Breillat's done, but her films are always provocative and interesting, and at their best ("Romance," "Fat Girl"), they can be modern cinema's most bracing and intelligent looks at female sexuality. Her most recent movie, "The Last Mistress," was her most mature and satisfying work yet, and "Bluebeard" looks to continue this trend. An adaptation of Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale, the film contrasts a pair of girls in the present day reading the story of a young woman who marries the murderous lord Bluebeard. Drawing strong reviews, and comparisons to the work of Luis Bunuel and Angela Carter, this could be one of the real highlights of the festival, despite its brief runtime (only 80 minutes!)
If You Like This... Equally provocative films making appearances at the festival include Atom Egoyan's "Chloe," the divisive Cannes entry "Air Doll" and Gaspar Noe's "Enter the Void."

"Lourdes"
Also picking up ecstatic reviews from Venice is Austrian director Jessica Hausner's "Lourdes," about an MS-sufferer who travels to the famous pilgrimage destination hoping for a cure. While the subject matter doesn't sound super appealing, it seems to all be in the execution. We've got to admit to being unfamiliar with Hausner's previous work, like the David Lynch-esque "Hotel," but with comparisons to Michael Haneke being banded about (although maybe just because they're both Austrian...), she definitely sounds like a director to watch.
If You Like This... Other films from emerging European talent includes "Father Of My Children," the French Gala at the festival, about an arthouse film producer, and "Women Without Piano" from Spanish director Javier Rebollo, and starring Carmen Machi from "Broken Embraces."

"Ajami"
Following the recent uproar over the Toronto Film Festival's Tel Aviv strand, it's good to see that London isn't shying away from films examining the situation in the Middle East. One of the most intriguing is "Ajami," set in a tense area of Jaffa. With a sprawling cast (all played by non-professionals) stretched over a fractured narrative, close to the likes of "Gomorrah" and "Amores Perros," the film took seven years to make, and is, interestingly enough, co-directed by Scandar Copti, a Palestinian, and Yaron Shani, an Israeli. The word from the Director's Fortnight at Cannes was very strong indeed, so we'll be there.
If You Like This... Venice winner "Lebanon," a claustrophobic war film shot entirely within a tank and Michael Moore-like anti-semitism documentary "Defamation" are both intriguing, as are Egyptian flicks "One-Zero" and "The Traveler," starring Omar Sharif.

"A Serious Man"
We somehow omitted the latest Coen Brothers flick from our Toronto most anticipated list, but we're not going to make the same mistake twice, particularly after the reviews it's been picking up. Many critics pretty much flipped for it, and it's got the best trailer of the year by a country mile. Centered on a Minnesotan physics professor (theater veteran Michael Stuhlbarg) whose life is falling apart, it teams the brothers with Roger Deakins again (for the tenth time, no less), and we couldn't be happier about that — we love Emmanuel Lubezki, but "Burn After Reading" was missing the Deakins touch. It's out now on limited release, and we also raved about it here.
If You Like This... Another keenly anticipated film we left out of our Toronto piece is Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Micmas," which looks great, and seems to be a touch darker than his last two movies. Then again one of our own reviews was rather lukewarm on it. Other hotly tipped movies also turning up in London include "Up In the Air," "The Informant!" and "Valhalla Rising."

"Passenger Side"
We're pretty big fans of Adam Scott here, and his leading role in "The Vicious Kind" is one of the best performances of the year so far. He's taking on a leading role again in Canadian director Matthew Bissonnette's "Passenger Side," where he plays a man on a road trip with his drug addict brother. The film looks gorgeous, in an HD video style, anyway, and it grabbed some great reviews at the LA Film Festival, so all these, plus Scott's presence and a soundtrack featuring Leonard Cohen, Smog and Dinosaur Jr, makes this the obvious break out in a strong selection of North American indies.
If You Like This... That strong selection include Andrew Bujalski's "Beeswax," Joe Swanberg's "Alexander the Last," Zoe Kazan in "The Exploding Girl" and The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi as a chef in "Today's Special."

As a side note, the festival is presenting a best film award, The Star of London (pictured left), for the first time, in an attempt to raise the festival's standing to that of festivals like Cannes and Berlin. A jury including Jarvis Cocker, Anjelica Houston and Matthieu Kassovitz will pick from a shortlist made up of Australia war flick "Balibo," "Bright Star", "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Micmacs," "Nowhere Boy," "A Prophet," "The Road," "A Serious Man," and "The White Ribbon." The award joins the pre-existing Sutherland Trophy, for most original first feature, where a jury including Edgar Wright and Paul Greengrass will pick from the likes of "Ajami," "Bunny and the Bull," "Lebanon," "Metropia," "Cold Souls" and "Wah Do Dem." Our coverage will kick off this time next week, with our report from the opening gala, "Fantastic Mr Fox," and will continue throughout October.

Abel Ferrera Begins Shooting 'Game Of Death' With Wesley Snipes

Someone made a good observation the other day and we can't remember where we read it (we scoured the two sources where we thought it came from Time Out New York and the A/V Club, no luck) and to paraphrase, it went something like this: with cantankerous filmmaker Abel Ferrara constantly cranking out films and adding to his eclectic body of work, it's a bit of a surprise the risk-taker doesn't come up snake eyes more often.

It's true and in fact he seems to be more well known these days for arguing with Werner Herzog. But Ferrara is essentially in perpetual film production or preparation yet how many classics does he have under his belt other than, "Bad Lieutenant," "King of New York" and "Mary" (and no one saw the latter aside from critics)? And how many of his movies — many of them of B-movie quality despite the perennial appearance of Christopher Walken who will seemingly appear in anything for the director — do people actually see? Many of his films come and go and are often times only shown in New York (see his most recent documentary "Chelsea On The Rocks," his portrait of Manhattan's bohemian hotspot the Chelsea Hotel that's in very limited release).

So we'd like to make something once more with real teeth, but in rather surprising, and deeply sad news, Abel Ferrara has just begun filming in Michigan on a Wesley Snipes action thriller titled, "Game of Death," from Voltage Pictures ("The Hurt Locker"). Snipes will play a convicted tax cheat a bodyguard trying to defend a hospitalized diplomat from assassination. The film, which marks the first teaming of the pair since "King of New York," and sounds like it will most likely be found on the bottom shelf of your local video store (assuming your local video store still exists) sometime next year. We have no idea what Ferrara's doing on this, but we hope it pays well... or we at least hope and pray there's some substance to it. But action thriller? That does not sound like Ferrara territory (if you're thinking about the action in "Kings Of New York," you've got that movie all wrong).

In terms of awaiting Ferrara genius (which is a bit like waiting for Godot these days), perhaps we'll have to patiently wait for "Jekyll and Hyde," his modern re-imagining of the original Robert Louis Stevenson story that will star Forest Whitaker and 50 Cent. No shit, seriously, we didn't make that mindblower up. Will that one ever actually happen? Fingers fucking crossed. Also, what happened to his so-called, "King Of New York" sequel?

While we're at it, Ferrara's 2007 stripclub film, "Go Go Tales," starring Asia Argento screened at Cannes that year, but failed to ever receive U.S. distribution. Anyone have a bootleg of this thing they want to send us?

Matt Groening Says No 'Simpsons' Movie Until Show Is Over; Samuel L. Jackson Decides To Act Again?

Matt Groening told director Morgan Spurlock, who was interviewing the director at a keynote event in Cannes, that there will be no second 'Simpsons' movie until the TV show has ended it's run . "It took 18 years to get around to doing the movie," Groening said. "We got very frustrated. We thought it would take two years but it ended up taking four. Some day maybe we'll do another one — but don't hold your breath."

So when is the end of the series? Apparently they are under contract for two more years, but that doesn't mean they won't re-up after that. "We cannot predict the end because we can't believe we are still here today," he said.

- Samuel L. Jackson, who seems to have suddenly decided to act again, between Rodrigo Garcia's upcoming "Mother and Child," and the forthcoming Cormac McCarthy adaptation "The Sunset Limited," with Tommy Lee Jones and Michael Sheen, has now signed on to the drama "Same Kind of Different Me." The independent film, from writers Roderick and Bruce Taylor ("The Brave One"), is based on the non-fiction book of the same name, about the friendship between an ex-con drifter and an international art dealer. Hey, Sam, this is great for you. You really need to leave the Tarantino/"Snakes On A Plane" world for a few years.

- Exploiting the recent loophole allowing films to be submitted in a language not native to that of their country, the U.K. have picked their submission for the Best Foreign Language Oscar — the documentary "Afghan Star," the winner of the World Documentary Audience award at Sundance this year. The film focuses on competitors on Afghanistan's version of "American Idol."

- Actress Isla Fisher is developing a pair of projects at Universal. The "Wedding Crashers" star, and partner of Sacha Baron Cohen, will produce and play the lead in an untitled romantic comedy from "Under the Tuscan Sun" helmer Audrey Wells, and "Life Coach," from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez company, about a woman who consults an unbalanced life coach. Hopefully at least one of them will be worthy of Fisher's comic talents.

When the fourth 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film title was announced as, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," everyone just assumed it was based upon the Tim Powers pirate book of the same name. "I was still — as far as I understood — not free to talk about it," the author the L.A. Times said about the legal disclosures he signed. "Then about a week ago my agent wrote and said, 'You're now able to say that in fact Disney did option the book.' That happened a while ago, it'll be three years in April." Mystery officially solved for those that actually still had doubt. Happy?

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Btw, if you're in New York, here's a great list of all the "Where The Wild Things Are" related events happening in the city this month. Jonze and Sendak will be present for some of it.

RZA Joins Zach Galifianakis & Robert Downey Jr. In 'Due Date'

Wu Tang Clan's the RZA has been cast in Todd Phillips' upcoming 2010 comedy, "Due Date," which started filming a few weeks back.

The rapper/actor/polymath/ genius, who also signed on to Paul Haggis' "The Next Three Days" recently, joins stars Robert Downey Jr, Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan and Jamie Foxx.

The logline of "Due Date," is about a high-strung father-to-be (Downey Jr.) is forced to hitch a ride with a college slacker (Galifinakis) on a road trip in order to make it to his child's birth on time (Monaghan plays his wife). It's unknown what role RZA will play in that mix.

We thought "The Hangover" was slightly overrated, but this a pretty great cast. But because of the crazy success of "The Hangover," Warner Bros. has already locked in the picture for a November 5, 2010 release date. The RZA was last seen in Judd Apatow's "Funny People," and will be evidently scoring the picture, "Warriors Way" next.