Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry Reunite for Animated 'Canterville Ghost'
|
With the long-running medical drama series "House M.D." coming to an end next week, I'm hoping that means Hugh Laurie will have more time for feature films. He's lent his voice to films like Hop, Monsters vs. Aliens and Arthur Christmas recently (since voice roles are considerably less time consuming when hiatus between seasons of a TV show), and he's adding another one to the mix. However, this time THR reports Laurie will reunite with his old comedy cohort Stephen Fry for the first time in 13 years to lend their voices to an animated film called The Canterville Ghost, an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's short story.
The two made quite the name for themselves in their comedy series "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and now they'll star opposite each other with Fry playing the title character, Sir Simon de Canterville, a 300 year old ghost, while Laurie voices his ... |  |
Channing Tatum Mentors Alex Pettyfer in the New 'Magic Mike' Trailer
|
While plenty of people have obviously been excited about The Avengers assembling on the big screen, there's an all-male assembly that will have more of the women excited in a whole different way. The first trailer for Magic Mike, the story about the life of a male stripper inspired by the real-life job Channing Tatum once had before making it big in Hollywood, was definitely a tease, and this one is no different. However, this time we see Tatum's titular character taking Alex Pettyfer under his wing. Honestly, shirtless dudes aren't my cup of tea, but I'd be lying if I said the film didn't look interesting. Watch below!
Here's the new trailer for Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike from YouTube:
A young upstart male stripper (Alex Pettyfer) is taken under the wing of his more experienced colleagues.
Magic Mike is directed by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Contagion, Out of Sight) and written by ... |  |
Alex Proyas in Talks to Co-Write and Direct 'Gods of Egypt' Adventure
|
Dark City director Alex Proyas hit a bit of a rough patch recently, with the back-to-back disappointments of having the plug pulled on both Dracula: Year Zero and Paradise Lost. But the resilient director scooped up a directing gig for the mystery story The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, and things are looking up for him with another project as well. Variety reports that Proyas is in talks to direct Gods of Egypt, a fantasy adventure about a common thief and a god on a quest through the land of great pyramids.
Proyas is also set to co-write the screenplay with his Dracula: Year Zero writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (what an awesome name). Gods of Egypt may be the closest thing to Paradise Lost Proyas can direct right now, keeping in line with the with the heavenly and supernatural elements. Sounds like that's a creative itch that Proyas needs ... |  |
'Welcome to the Bathtub' Interactive 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Site
|
I just saw Benh Zeitlin & Court 13's Beasts of the Southern Wild, the top Grand Jury Prize winner in Sundance and my favorite film of that festival, for a second time today at the Cannes Film Festival. It's just as phenomenal a second time. One of my favorite films of the year, it's that good, that moving, that amazing, even seeing it again. Fox Searchlight, who picked up the film and is releasing it this summer, has launched a new interactive website at WelcomeToTheBathtub.com plus a viral Tumblr blog focusing on the small, wet Southern Louisiana region it takes place in nicknamed "The Bathtub". This is cool, visit when you can.
This is a great way to introduce and immerse new audiences to the stunning world of Beasts - click to visit!
Waters gonna rise up, wild animals gonna rerun from the grave, and everything south of the levee is goin' ... |  |
Original 'Blade Runner' Writer Returns to Pen Sequel for Ridley Scott
|
Last November sci-fi fans got a special treat from director Ridley Scott when he confirmed that he was looking to direct a sequel to Blade Runner, the classic 1982 sci-fi film starring Harrison Ford. The film is based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? and it was screenwriter Hampton Fancher who adapted the book for the big screen, and now Heat Vision has word that he's being brought back to script the sequel for Alcon Entertainment. As expected, plot details are non-existent, but the story will be set "some years after the first film concluded." That's about the best damn news we've heard all week.
When we heard about this project in November, Scott said the sequel would not have Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard character or any of the original characters from the first film. That's a little disappointing, but if Prometheus is half as ... |  |
Kickstart This: 'Homewrecker', 'cockroaches' & Practical FX in 'Sci-Fly'
|
Welcome back to another edition of Kickstart This, FirstShowing's weekly column dedicated to spreading the word about cool indie projects that need your help to become a reality. This week, we've got three great film projects that we want to spotlight: a drama about a temptation that arises in young marriage called Homewrecker; a wild and kinetic Guy Ritchie-esque crime caper known as cockroaches; and finally a cool stop-motion practical effects movie called Sci-Fly. Take a look at these three latest projects, sound off in the comments below, and don't forget to toss the filmmakers a few bucks if you can. See them below!
First up, there's Homewrecker. My friend Mike Eisenberg (who writes at The Movie Mash) has lamented the incessant appearance of infidelity as a plot point in movies these days, and I totally agree with him. Like in every other film, someone is being unfaithful to their significant ... |  |
Sound Off: Peter Berg's 'Battleship' Movie - So What Did You Think?
|
Now that you've seen it, what did you think? C-4. Hit? Or miss? You played the game as a kid, now it's time to see the movie (or maybe not). Arriving in theaters is Universal's attempt at adapting a board game, specifically Battleship, into an explosive summer blockbuster directed by Peter Berg, starring an eclectic cast. Taylor Kitsch leads the way, with Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson, too. But is it even remotely entertaining or just terrible? Does this fleet of battleships sink quickly? How was Rihanna? If you've seen it, leave a comment below with your thoughts on Peter Berg's Battleship.
Note: I haven't seen and don't care to see Battleship, it just doesn't look like anything I want to watch. So instead, here's a quote from our own Ben Pearson's review on Filmonic: "Battleship, which is not only one of the worst blockbusters in recent memory, ... |  |
Spectacular Paris Subway 'Prometheus' Giant Head Marketing Display
|
Why does Europe get all the best marketing stunts?! We're going a bit Prometheus crazy here, considering we're counting down the days (22 left!) in the three weeks left until it arrives in theaters. The final pieces of marketing are coming together, and one huge stunt in Europe, specifically Paris, includes an abandoned subway station being completely decked out with that giant head and blue lights for riders to see. And it's incredible. There's even a video of the subway ride through the station, it's amazing, this is brilliant. Shots have hit the web on the Weyland Investors Tumblr (via MovieViral) and they're definitely must see photos.
Here's a video from Half-A-Million Screenshots of the subway riding through the station, it looks awesome.
This amazing Prometheus display is on Paris' Metro line 9 at the Saint-Martin station (as you can see labeled above), which has been closed since 1939. My excitement for ... |  |
Disney Looks to Adapt Peter Pan Story 'Peter and the Starcatchers'
|
There's no doubt about it: J.M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan is so hot right now. Neverland's favorite son is already the subject of two different movies in development, and now Deadline reports that another story about the ultimate Lost Boy is in the works at Disney, the studio that brought us Peter's animated adventures way back in 1953. Jesse Wigutow will adapt Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's book Peter and the Starcatchers, which is another Peter Pan origin story that sets Peter and the infamous Lost Boys on an adventure to make sure that magical "starstuff" stays out of the hands of the evil pirate Black Stache.
My first reaction to this was to roll my eyes, but this story is currently running as a successful Broadway play and just received nine Tony Award nominations, so perhaps there's something to this story that separates it from all the other Pan stories ... |  |
First Look: Gritty Tyler Perry and Ripped Matthew Fox in 'Alex Cross'
|
We've seen a lot of Tyler Perry dressed up like a woman in a fat suit, and Matthew Fox seemingly always on the verge of tears on "Lost," but when these two seemingly unmanly men come together, they're throwing around a lot of grit and muscle. That seems to be the case in these first look photos from Alex Cross. Though it's based on James Patterson's novels featuring the recurring Cross character, the film is said to have a mostly original story. It's strange seeing Perry looking deadly serious as a detective, and even crazier seeing how ripped and absolutely insane Fox looks as the cage-fighting murderer. See the photos below!
Here's the first look photos from Rob Cohen's Alex Cross from Kinopoisk (via The Film Stage):
After Washington DC detective Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) is told that his wife has been murdered, he vows to track down the killer (Matthew Fox). ... |  |
Seven New 'Lawless' Character Posters Are Armed and Dangerous
|
The first trailer for Lawless from director John Hillcoat was rather impressive with Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke (in a role that should skyrocket his fame) as three bootlegging brothers who helped build the American Dream in this exuberant tale of what was to become crime’s first major gold rush. Now we have a set of character posters that don't exactly fit with the style of the film, but rather with the black and white freeze frames from the aforementioned trailer (an element I didn't like). But there's plenty of gun wielding to be seen on these posters, and even Gary Oldman and Guy Pearce get their own. Look!
Here are the character posters for John Hillcoat's Lawless from HuffPo and Fandango:
John Hillcoat (The Road, The Proposition) is directing the Lawless from a script by Nick Cave which is based on Matt Bondurant's novel The Wettest County in the ... |  |
Details on 'Cloud Atlas' Coming Out, WB Screening Nearly 3 Hour Cut
|
They're finally letting the cat out of the bag. Warner Bros has started screening early cuts of Cloud Atlas, the nearly finished Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer adaptation of David Mitchell's novel, featuring six storylines and actors playing multiple roles/genders/races. This is a project we've followed closely for a long time, not only because it's the latest Wachowskis movie, but because it has the potential to be amazing, with settings that span thousands of years. The studio recently screened the film in Cannes for buyers, and also held test screenings in London and Los Angeles, which I've heard some positive feedback from already. More below!
The newest details come from an update via Thompson on Hollywood, the blog run by Anne Thompson who is here in Cannes. She's heard that the Warner Bros screened a finished 2 hours and 44 minute cut of it in Cannes earlier this week, for international distributors. ... |  |
Watch: First 'Hyde Park on Hudson' Trailer with Bill Murray as FDR
|
"I now see how important this weekend was..." Focus Features has unveiled the first trailer for Hyde Park on Hudson, a film about the weekend in 1939 when the King of England visited President Franklin D. Roosevelt's upstate New York estate. Bill Murray plays FDR, along with Olivia Williams as Eleanor Roosevelt, Laura Linney as Margaret Suckley, Samuel West as King George VI (the same one from The King's Speech) and Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth. This has a very light, fun, comical tone similar to The King's Speech in many ways, but with its own quirks, including of course Bill Murray. Looks quite good.
Watch the first official trailer for Roger Michell's Hyde Park on Hudson, in high def via Yahoo:
The story of the love affair between FDR (Murray) and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley (Linney), centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United ... |  |
First 'Ender's Game' Fan Q&A with Bob Orci on the Production Blog
|
"I need you to be clever, Bean. I need you to think of solutions to problems we haven’t seen yet." We've been following the production on Ender's Game and now it's shooting down in New Orleans, so what's the latest? Well, the production blog being run by producer Roberto Orci, commonly known as Bob Orci, has posted the first big Q&A on their Tumblr. A few weeks ago, they asked fans to submit questions ("In Dragon Army, Ender encourages input. So do we.") and have started answering a few of them, including some that shed rather interesting light on the tone and characters in this adaptation of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi novel.
While only a few photos on the blog have surfaced so far, and they're in the middle of shooting on huge practical sets, Orci reveals some details about Gavin Hood's Ender's Game movie, and a few hints as to ... |  |
There Can Be Only One 'Highlander' and It Might Be Ryan Reynolds
|
Though the actor has already taken over two different comic book characters in both the Marvel and DC universes, it looks like Ryan Reynolds is ready to take over yet another high profile franchise. Variety reports Reynolds is currently the front runner to take the lead role in the remake of Highlander from director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intruders). The original epic fantasy (starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery) had our hero battling an unstoppable barbarian who covets the power gained from there being only one of near-immortal beings left alive. However, plot details on the remake are now under wraps.
Though it seems like Reynolds has been pretty busy lately, he actually hasn't committed to any new projects since his turn in Safe House with Denzel Washington (though he was already set to voice a speedy snail in Turbo). I'm not sure Reynolds is the right guy for Highlander, though his ... |  |
Peter Dinklage, Robin Williams & Others in 'Angriest Man in Brooklyn'
|
Quick - pick five random actors you never imagined would share the screen in one movie. Got your list? This might be pretty close to it. ScreenDaily reports that Robin Williams, Peter Dinklage, Mila Kunis, Melissa Leo, and James Earl Jones have all signed on for The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, a comedy from Field of Dreams director Phil Alden Robinson. The story follows a stand-in doctor who mistakenly tells a patient he has 90 minutes to live, and then must track him down as the man goes on a whirlwind tour of the city to atone for the wrongs of his life. Sounds like a zany comedy with some potential. More below!
Red Dog writer Daniel Taplitz penned the screenplay, and this will easily be the most high profile thing he's written. I trust Robinson as a director, though, because he's been in the game for over twenty years, directing ... |  |
