M. Night Shyamalan might have made a mess of his career with two cinematic flops in a row (The Lady In The Water and The Happening). Normally that would be the death of a director who once had so much promise. But no, not Shyamalan. Proving that he’s as tough to predict as his earlier plot twists, the old dog is back with a completely different change of genre.
The Last Airbender is a Nickelodeon cartoon based on the exploits of Aang, a young martial artist who can manipulate the weather. Against him is firebending evildoer Zuko, who aims to capture Aang and so regain his lost crown.
Slumdog Millionare’s Dev Patel is flame-weilding Zuko, while newcomer Noah Ringer whips up a thunderstorm as Aang.
It all looks good. Will it put M. Night Shyamalan back on track? Here’s hoping.
Quantum Director Helming Zombie Epic ‘World War Z’
Marc Forster, director of the opinion-dividing Quantum Of Solace, has signed on to helm the adaptation of Max Brooks’ critically acclaimed novel World War Z.
The book, told from the viewpoint of a UN researcher, chronicles the stories of survivors of a zombie epidemic that spans the globe and cripples every country. The entire novel is documented in flashback in a disjointed structure that sets each chapter in a new arena with new characters.
It sounds like it couldn’t possibly work, but fortunately screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski is on the case, and after he is inevitably nominated for an Oscar for the Clint Eastwood-directed The Changeling, excitement for this project will begin to build.
“The genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the ’70s like All The President’s Men,” says Forster. Sounds like he already has a good idea for the film.
Production is being overseen by Brad Pitt’s Plan B studio, although no word about the actor’s involvement has been confirmed or denied.
Everything sounds promising. Just one piece of advice for Mr Forster - perhaps the editing could be less frenetic this time?
Sherlock Holmes - 1st Poster & Footage Description
ShoWest is unveiling Guy Ritchie’s take on the Sherlock Holmes mythology. A poster has been glimpsed and the first footage witnessed.
Downey Jr. looks remarkably dapper as the Victorian detective. I like the fact that his look is far-removed from the traditional look of Holmes, I feel that it will make it easier to ignore the film if it turns out to be a terrible mangling of the character. What do you guys think about the absence of the famous deer-stalker?
A lot of action footage was shown, from Holmes jumping out a third story or so window into the river below (Thames) and shots of Holmes in a bare knuckle fist fight reminiscent of Tom Cruise’s fights in Far and Away. Some of the punches were in slow motion kind of like 300…
The last scene shows a maid walking into the room and screaming at the site of a naked Holmes handcuffed to the bed with only a pillow to cover him up. Holmes then says, “Madam, I need you to remain calm and act like a professional. Take this pillow as the key to my release.” It was a pretty funny scene.
There were also shots of Holmes picking a lock until Watson just kicks the door in, a scene where he has a hammer but is up against an enormous man wielding a giant sledgehammer. Holmes throws the hammer at the guy’s chest and it bounces off with no effect.
Does that sound like your sort of Sherlock?
Sherlock Holmes And Dr. Watson Revealed
Pictures have leaked from the set of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, revealing Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson.
I have a great deal of affection for the Sherlock Holmes character, and lord knows he has been portrayed in countless different ways over the years (click here if you don’t believe me) and as a result I am extremely worried about Ritchie’s adaptation of the source material. I would be incredibly dismayed if he decided to turn my beloved Victorian gentleman into one of his cookie-cutter cockney geezers which, judging by the fact that Downey Jr. is dressed as what can only be described as a ragamuffin, would be a fair assumption.
Rumor has it that Ritchie’s vision for the film involves more of Holmes’ swashbuckling, adventurous nature than the buttoned-down detective we’re used to seeing. But then again, this aspect of the character was fleshed out considerably in Young Sherlock Holmes (a brilliant film in it’s own right).
I have no doubt that Downey Jr. will give an excellent performance but do you think Ritchie is creative enough to give an original perspective on the character without straying too far from the source material?
Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes isn’t due for release until December, but many fans of the sleuth legend are already upset with what appears to be a slightly Pirates-of-the-Caribbean take on the material. But is Sir Arthur C.D. really turning in his grave? How accurate is Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes?
The trailer seems to confirm rumours that Ritchie has gone for a sexier, more action-oriented Holmes, with Robert Downey Jr. bare-knuckle-brawling and getting up close and personal with Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler. But is this such a leap? I’ve read most of the Holmes stories and it’s got to be said, he’d give some of today’s rock stars a run for their money in terms of his drug use. He’s an enthusiastic cocaine user and occasionally injects morphine as well.
As for weapons training and martial arts, Holmes and Watson both carry canes and pistols, but the guns don’t get much of a work out, only being used seven times in all the stories. Although Watson describes Holmes as an expert with a sword, he never actually demonstrates this in the books. However, Holmes is more than willing to use his fists. In The Sign of the Four, Holmes introduces himself to a prize-fighter as: “The amateur who fought three rounds with you at Alison’s rooms on the night of your benefit four years back.” McMurdo responds by saying, “Ah, you’re one that has wasted your gifts, you have! You might have aimed high, if you had joined the fancy.”
In “The Adventure of the Empty House”, Holmes tells Watson how he used martial arts to overcome uber-villain Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. He states that “I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me.”
Actually the biggest change Ritchie may be making in terms of Holmes’ character is in relation to the opposite sex. Holmes seems pretty asexual in general and the only woman he ever showed major interest in is Irene Adler. According to Watson, Holmes referred to her on more than one occasion as “The Woman”. Although she only appears in A Scandal in Bohemia, she’s mentioned in multiple other Holmes stories. However, Watson says, “It was not that Holmes felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler.” It was the thrill of being beaten by an adversary, especially a woman, that made Holmes fascinated with her. Guy Ritchie obviously felt this wasn’t exciting enough, hence the apparent on-screen shenanigans in this new version.
Either way, I can’t wait to see Ritchie’s take and it’ll be an interesting addition to the (long) list of movies about Sherlock Holmes.
Jude Law Is Dr.Watson In Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes
Jude ‘heartthrob losing hair’ Law will play Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movie, the mockney director has announced.
Law will be appearing alongside Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr, who has been cast in the role of Holmes. Ritchie, whose latest movie RocknRolla is released Stateside this month, made the announcement at a London press conference where he confirmed the rest of the cast.
Set pictures of Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood have started cropping up, thanks to photographers probably trespassing.
Russell Crowe will be the oldest actor ever to play Robin on film (he’s 45) and it was rumored at the start that he would be playing both Robin AND the Sheriff of Nottingham, which would have been brilliant. Sadly, he’s only taking on one part now, albeit one of the most iconic roles in adventure movies.
I can’t wait to see this movie, particularly seeing as Crowe has been reunited with Ridley Scott after working together on Gladiator, A Good Year, American Gangster and Body Of Lies. Those two don’t see enough of each other.
Here are the pictures, which show the Sheriff’s men doing what they do best (i.e. terrorising peasants) and Robin himself with a bow and arrow (but no stick):
We have known for a while that Ridley Scott has cast Russell Crowe as the eponymous hero in his upcoming Robin Hood project, but now we have a more complete list of the cast along with (educated) guesses as to which roles they will be playing.
We already have the great Russell Crowe in the Robin Hood role and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian. Now some of Robin’s boys have been cast. Scott Grimes, who most know from ER or BAND OF BROTHERS… but who will always be the little red-headed kid from CRITTERS and CRITTERS 2 for me… will be Will Scarlett. Kevin Durand, who was in SMOKIN’ ACES, but who I now more associate with being the asshole military guy trying to kill Ben from last season of LOST, will be Little John. And lastly, musician Alan Doyle (Great Big Sea) will be playing a traveling minstrel. All per Hollywood Reporter.
It’s clear that Scott wants to get back to the period/action genre that gave him such a big success with Gladiator but I have to say that apart from the inspired choices of Crowe and Blanchett I don’t know much about this cast, other than anyone who was in Critters is alright in my book.
What do you think of these casting choices?
I’m quite looking forward to Scott’s take on the old legend, he has never been one to shy away from the dark and dirty underbelly of a story, it should be a nice change of pace from the glossy Hollywood versions we have seen so far.
The trailer for John Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road has his the interwebs, and it’s viewable right here.
The film looks suitably bleak and the performances look strong, but it’s hard not to feel that this is being marketed in a strange way, at least from this trailer…it seemed a little excessively fast paced, like a disaster movie or something. But whether the trailer does the film justice or not, there is no denying that the intense, brutal imagery is mesmeric. The film has recently gained positive buzz, being labelled by Esquire as the most important movie of the year. What with the success of previous McCarthy adaptation No Country for Old Men, most people have already booked their ticket for this bandwagon, but if you hadn’t this trailer should have whetted your appetite.
The movie stars Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises) and Fire (The Dawn of Man).
Eastwood’s Mandela Movie Gets New Title & Release Date
For a guy so old he can remember where he was when he first heard the news that Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated, it is surprising that Clint Eastwood cranks his movies out with the rapidity of a nervous teen’s first sexual encounter. Even with The Changeling and Gran Torino both only having hit cinemas inside the last twelve months, there won’t be much of a delay before audiences get a chance to cast their peepers over the latest directorial effort from the erstwhile Man with No Name, with the freshly re-titled Invictus having been scheduled for US release on 11 December.
Having filmed under working title The Human Factor, Eastwood’s movie chronicles the efforts of South African President Nelson Mandela to effect national reconciliation following decades of apartheid, under the unifying banner of his country’s 1995 Rugby World Cup triumph. Following in the footsteps of Dennis Haysbert and Sidney Poitier as Mandela himself will be Eastwood’s Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby co-star Morgan Freeman, while Matt Damon co-stars as the Springboks victorious captain Francois Pienaar.
The new title Invictus is taken from a favoured poem of Mandela’s, originally penned by one-footed English scribe William Ernest Henley, and the film is based on the book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation by John Carlin. The screenplay is by Anthony Peckham, who worked on the script of Guy Richie’s Sherlock Holmes reboot (which itself opens just two weeks after Invictus).
While myriad games lesson spent chewing on muddy turf when attempting to dispossess the bigger boys have saddled me with a deep-rooted fear of backwards-passing, egg-shaped ball games, the first week of December release date suggests that Clint is counting that his old chums at the Academy will come to Invictus free of any such prejudice. It will be fresh in mind when it comes to allocating all those nominations in spring 2010, and the true-life source material, inspirational message and central figure of Mandela looks like a confection which will not only seduce the Oscar voters, but also take them home, bang them senseless till the first birdsong of the morn, and see them off with an egg sarnie and woolly pledge to give them a call at some indeterminate point later in the week.
Ahead of its forthcoming release on 21 August, four new character banners for Quentin Tarantino’s WWII kill-a-thon Inglourious Basterds have been released.
The characters depicted are leader of the Basterds Lt. Aldo Raines (played by Brad Pitt), Diane Kruger’s spy Bridget von Hammersmark, Christoph Waltz as principal villain Hans Landa, and Mélanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus, the young girl who sees her family massacred by the Nazis in the opening scene of the movie. The story of Inglourious Basterds apparently sees parallel developing narratives involving Raines and his men and Shosanna and her quest for vengeance, with the two converging in a Parisian cinema where an assassination attempt is launched against Der Fuhrer himself (played by Martin Wuttke).
Anticipated by his fans for what seems like an eternity now, Inglourious Basterds is set to deliver a characteristically Tarantino take on the Second World War, with the events of his movie shot not through the prism of history, but rather that of cinema past (the soundtrack is laden with cuts from old Morricone scores). Premiered at Cannes earlier this year, it would be fair to say the movie attracted something of a mixed reception – although Christoph Waltz did er, waltz off with the festival’s award for Best Actor.
After the second Kill Bill and disappointing Death Proof, the suspicion has been that Tarantino’s movies have only been growing more self-indulgent in recent years, sagging under the weight of star names and resurrected cult figures alike, all wrapping their lips round the reams and ream and reams and reams of macho dialogue. But he is still a director with flair and admirable technique, and Inglourious Basterds appears to be something of a dream project for him, so maybe he will pull something special out of the bag.
As part of Empire magazine’s massive 20th anniversary special issue (guest edited by none other that Steven Spielberg) the team are bringing us a first look at Peter Jackson’s upcoming project ‘The Lovely Bones’ and have teased us by posting an image from the article online for all to see.
Based on Alice Sebold’s book, the film follows Susie (Saoirse Ronan) a 14 year-old girl raped and murdered by her neighbour. From heaven, she watches her family deal (or not) with her death, and watches her murderer as he tries to hide the evidence.
Mark Wahlberg plays Susie’s father, Rachel Weisz her mother, Stanley Tucci the neighbour and Susan Sarandon the family’s grandmother. It’s directed by Peter Jackson, and adapted by him along with his co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
I’m assuming that what we see in the image is heaven, though from what I remember of the novel it doesn’t describe heaven as some crazy mirrored landscape, more of a kind of little village populated by people and animals from Susie’s past. However, this is just a single image so it is hard to make judgments about the final film based on so little information.
My opinion on the novel at the time I read it was that it was a fairly average read with a healthy dose of emotional manipulation; hopefully Jackson can utilize his skill as a filmmaker to elevate the source material. And just if you need proof that Jackson can do more than goblins and hobbits you should check out ‘Heavenly Creatures’ starring Kate Winslet.
They remind me of the ones for The Matrix: Reloaded that just showed the characters from the neck down. The difference there was that we were seeing characters that were established in the first film that we recognized. Outside of that context I don’t really see the point of this style of poster it really doesn’t reveal much about the movie other than that all the characters look good in latex.
I never really watched the G.I. Joe TV show when I was a youngster so I don’t have any real emotion invested in this film (obviously I’d like it to be good), but I know it means a lot to some of you guys. So with that in mind, what do you think of the posters? How about the idea of the adaptation in general?
The first full length ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’ trailer has arrived. Dumb doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Cutting from green goo taking down the Eiffel Tower to Dennis Quaid saying “We have never faced a threat like this.” - That’s how you do grave, people.
Underwater city - check. Marlon Wayans in a supersuit - check. But where the hell are the pork chop sandwiches?
‘G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra’ stars Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Sienna Miller. The cobra will rise on August 7th. Bring beer.
