Category: Cinema
007 MIA.
“Broccoli liked ‘Layer Cake’ star Daniel Craig, 37, but Wilson didn’t. Broccoli also thought Australian star Hugh Jackman, 36, who in addition to playing Wolverine in ‘X-Men’ has appeared in Broadway musicals, wasn’t masculine enough. Colin Farrell, 29, was judged too much of a bad boy. Eric Bana, 37, star of ‘Troy’ and the upcoming ‘Munich,’ wasn’t good-looking enough. Ewan McGregor, 34, was too short.” The Hollywood Reporter examines in depth the current state of the new Bond search.
Tales of the South.
SNL alums Cheri Oteri and Amy Pohler fill out the cast for Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales, his followup to Donnie Darko (notwithstanding a writing cred on Domino.) Besides boasting a strange, Darko-ish website, Tales also features a cast that’s multiplying faster than transdimensional zombie bunnies, including the Rock, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Miranda Richardson, John Larroquette, Jon Lovitz, Jill Ritchie, Will Sasso, Wood Harris, Bai Ling, and Wallace Shawn.
Murrow, Mines, Mobsters, Menage, and Monkey.
Soon after posting the last entry, I found a new cache of trailers for films around the corner over at Coming Soon: First off, Edward Murrow takes a journalistic stand against McCarthyism (with much explicit contemporary relevance) in the trailer for George Clooney’s Good Night and Good Luck, starring David Strathairn, Clooney, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Downey, Jr., Jeff Daniels, and Frank Langella. Then, Charlize Theron braves borderline winds, the mining life, and sexual harassment in the preview for North Country, also with Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean, and Richard Jenkins. Meanwhile, law partners John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton look for the big score in Harold Ramis’ The Ice Harvest, with Randy Quaid, Connie Nielsen, and Oliver Platt. And, finally, journalist Alison Lohman looks into the racy reasons behind the demise of comedy team Bacon & Firth in Atom Egoyan’s Where the Truth Lies (recently saddled with a NC-17), and video gamer Allen Covert pays respect to his elders in the trailer for the Adam-Sandler produced Grandma’s Boy. (To be honest, I’m only blogging this last one for the “don’t judge me” monkey bit and the too-brief glimpse of the lovely Linda “Lindsey Weir” Cardellini.) Update: Ok, one more: Tilda Swinton, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vince Vaughn, Benjamin Bratt and Keanu Reeves try to help newcomer Lou Pucci stop a nasty habit in the trailer for Thumbsucker, due out in just over two weeks.
Blood, sweat, and dust.
In the trailer bin, Philip Seymour Hoffman channels In Cold Blood-era Truman Capote — I presume that’s how he actually sounded — in the preview for Capote, also with Catherine Keener and Chris Cooper. Elsewhere, 1880s Aussie Guy Pearce gets an offer he probably should refuse in The Proposition, written by Nick Cave and also starring Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Danny Houston, David Wenham, and Emily Watson. Finally, I should’ve posted this before, but only now found it: the trailer for Martin Scorsese’s Dylan-doc No Direction Home, appearing on PBS Sept. 26th and 27th.
And Homer Makes Six.
“We’ve gotta crack open your head and scoop out those DVDs.” So, I picked up the Simpsons Season Six set today (along with Farscape Starburst 5, Sin City, and Layer Cake), and while normally I’m obliged to speak ill of Fox, I must admit they’ve done an admirable job in keeping the Simpsons fanboys (such as myself) happy with their Alternative Packaging Program. For only $2.95, they’ll mail you a standard Season Six box to replace the plastic Homer Head it currently comes in.
Pirates of Skull Island.
“‘I don’t believe piracy can be easily beaten; fighting fire with fire by releasing movies on DVD at the same time as cinemas is probably where the industry is heading in the next few years,’ said Mr. Jackson”. The NY Times discusses King Kong and the current industry effort against movie piracy.
Gold Stryker.
Will Al Swearingen meet his match in Hannibal Lecter? Proving once again that quality character actors love them some Sioux country, Brian Cox joins Deadwood Season Three as “Jack Langrishe, an eccentric producer and theater owner who strives to introduce a modicum of culture to the mean streets of the South Dakota town.” (He’s likely the earlier rumored openly gay character in love with a male ingenue — Garret Dillahunt, perhaps?) (Also posted at Quiddity.) In other HBO news, memo to myself: The Wire Season 3 hits On Demand on Sept. 12, meaning I should probably pick up the service sometime before then.
Narn!
A number of new Chronicles of Narnia images materialize online, including several of Tilda Swinton’s White Witch, James McAvoy’s Mr. Tumnus, and Jim Broadbent’s Professor.
La coupe de feu.
The Leaky Cauldron procures the international trailer for HP and the Goblet of Fire (Scroll down.) With the exception of that truly terrible falling sequence near the end there, this looks like it could be as entertaining as Azkhaban.