Chiwetel Ejiofor Is Fela Kuti For Director Steve McQueen By Russ Fischer/May 5, 2010 10:35 am EST Talk about perfect casting. We’ve mentioned before that Hunger director Steve McQueen is making a film about the life of Fela Kuti, the Nigerian musician / activist who essentially invented Afrobeat. Now there’s word that Kuti will be played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Because, really, was there anyone else who could take the part?...
Comic-Con: Battle: Los Angeles Footage Description/Video Blog By Adam Quigley/July 22, 2010 5:09 pm EST I was sold on Battle: Los Angeles from the moment I found out the plot synopsis—a real-time alien invasion movie set in LA—but today was the first time anything from the film has been shown to an audience (unless you count the viral campaign spread around the Comic-Con convention center). Check after the break for a breakdown of what we saw, and our reactions....
Cool Stuff: Rich Kelly’s ‘The King Of Kong’ Art Print “Kill Screen” By Peter Sciretta/Jan. 17, 2011 11:00 am EST I attended the grand opening of Gallery 1988’s Venice art gallery on Saturday night, the opening night of their video game-inspired “Multiplayer” art print exhibition. One of the pieces at the show was actually inspired by a movie — Rich Kelly’s “Kill Screen” poster pays homage to the great video game documentary The King of Kong: A Fistfull of Quarters....
Denzel Washington May Be ‘The Equalizer’ By Russ Fischer/Dec. 13, 2011 1:32 pm EST Looks like Paul Haggis and Russell Crowe aren’t going to revive ’80s TV show The Equalizer, after all. Last year Haggis was in talks to write a big-screen version of the show that starred Edward Woodward as a retired secret agent who tries to atone for his violent past by offering his services, pro bono, to those in need....
By Germain Lussier/July 15, 2011 3:00 pm EST And they give this piece of art. Rust sounds like a really fun, interesting, family adventure film and those are certainly movies studios are interested in. I’m all about harkening back to the 1980s with the live action, kids adventure stories. J.J. Abrams did a decent job of trying to resurrect the genre with Super 8, but that just scratched the surface....
Hulu To Launch $9.95 Subscription Service By Peter Sciretta/April 21, 2010 5:55 pm EST It has been rumored for a while now, and now it has been confirmed by the Los Angeles Times — Hulu plans to begin testing a $9.95 subscription service called Hulu Plus as soon as May 24th 2010. Of course, Hulu is not responding to requests or comment. The popular online video site would continue to provide free access to the five most recent episodes of popular shows from Fox, ABC, NBC and other Hulu content providers....
Is Paramount’s Latest Teen Casting Call For Super 8? By Russ Fischer/Aug. 20, 2010 8:38 pm EST A couple months back Paramount held an open casting call for teens 13-14 with a Midwestern feel. There was supposition at the time that the call might be looking for actors to fill out the J.J. Abrams film Super 8, which reportedly shoots in September. A conflicting report said the call was actually for a remake of Little Darlings, not Super 8, but recent info suggests that Little Darlings was a smokescreen set up by the studio, and that Super 8 could be shooting under the title ‘Darlings’....
Jamie Chung Joins ‘The Hangover Part II’ By Germain Lussier/Nov. 1, 2010 8:00 pm EST Jamie Chung just officially pulled past The Miz to become the most successful Real World cast member ever. The actress, who has already starred in the AMC Family show Samurai Girl, Grown Ups and Sorority Row in addition to playing one of the main ladies in Sucker Punch (above), has just been cast in The Hangover Part II (which, it seems, is the official new title)....
Max Von Sydow In Talks For ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ By Russ Fischer/Aug. 17, 2010 7:07 am EST Briefly: Just a short news piece on this one, because this story should come as a surprise to exactly no one. If David Fincher and Sony weren’t trying to hire Max Von Sydow for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, specifically for the role of Henrik Vanger, that would be an indication that all the rules that govern Hollywood had suddenly disappeared....
Michael Winterbottom’s ‘Everyday’ Teaser Trailer: A TIFF Film Five Years In The Making By Germain Lussier/Aug. 27, 2012 1:19 pm EST Michael Winterbottom has to be one of the most versatile filmmakers working today. Seemingly every single film he releases is completely different whether its a thriller, comedy, period piece, documentary or some kind of hybrid. That’s what his latest film, Everyday, is. A blend of fiction and documentary, the film tells the story of how the imprisonment of a father changes the life of his wife and four children....
Movie Trailer: ‘Mr. Nice’, A Tale Of Drugs, Cops And Wigs By Russ Fischer/May 30, 2010 1:27 pm EST Howard Marks is the most famous and possibly most successful drug dealer in British history. His autobiography, Mr. Nice, has been turned into a film starring Rhys Ifans, and now there’s a new trailer that shows the film’s free-wheeling ’80s recreation in all its be-wigged glory. Ifans plays Marks, who imported tons of hash into Britain, the US and Canada....
New ‘Tree Of Life’ Poster; Will Premiere In UK Before Cannes By Germain Lussier/March 28, 2011 1:44 pm EST Set for release in the United States on May 27, Malick’s film – starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain – was thought to have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. However, Empire is now reporting that it’ll premiere in the United Kingdom May 4, a full week before before the world’s most prestegious film festival even begins....
POTD: Edgar Wright And Simon Pegg Tease ‘The World’s End’ By Russ Fischer/Jan. 24, 2012 1:30 pm EST Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg got attention as the director and co-writer/star, respectively, of the TV show Spaced, then built themselves a grand little geek empire with the movies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Pegg and Wright wrote the two films together, and have teased a third movie in what has been jokingly called the ‘blood and ice cream’ trilogy....
Rob Zombie Will Direct ‘The Lords Of Salem’ By Russ Fischer/Sept. 22, 2010 6:41 pm EST Deadline says that Zombie will write the script this fall and shoot the film next year. He’s backed by Haunted Films and Alliance Films, a cooperation which has already financed James Wan’s Insidious and is behind Barry Levinson’s The Bay, which is shooting now. Zombie was attracted to the setup by an offer of autonomy — he’s given “total control” over script, casting and final cut....
Sequels: No Joseph Gordon-Levitt In ‘GI Joe 2;’ Justin Lin Implies He’ll Direct Sixth ‘The Fast And The Furious’ By Russ Fischer/May 3, 2011 5:00 pm EST So there will be a sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, possibly subtitled Cobra Strikes. That naturally led to supposition that Joseph Gordon-Levitt might return as Cobra Commander. Given that most of the characters from the first film are said to be no-shows this time (Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes and Duke are the returnees) his presence would be welcome....
Spider-Man Reboot Will Be “Peter Parker Told Differently” By Peter Sciretta/April 28, 2010 9:57 pm EST THR published a recent article about how producer Avi Arad believes that “Hollywood will do for video games what it has done for comic-book superheroes”. Honestly, the article is almost totally pointless. Arad also believes that a big screen adaptation of the Robosapian toy is a great idea. But hidden in the article is a nice quote from Columbia Pictures president Matt Tolmach talking about Marc Webb’s upcoming 3D Spider-Man reboot....
Steven Spielberg And Peter Jackson Talk Tintin And Filmmaking By Peter Sciretta/July 22, 2011 3:30 pm EST Director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson appeared at the 2011 Comic Con International to promote their upcoming film The Adventures of Tintin. It was Spielberg’s first appearance at the long-running San Diego convention and the packed crowd in Hall H gave him a standing ovation. After the jump you will find what I learned from the panel....
TV Bits: ‘Boardwalk Empire’, ‘Haven’, ‘The Simpsons’ Get Renewals; Watch ‘Walking Dead: Torn Apart’ Webisodes; ‘Justified’ Casts Season 3 Villains By Angie Han/Oct. 12, 2011 3:30 pm EST Also set to return for a third season is Syfy’s Haven, which drew steadily decent ratings through last season. Based on Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid, the hourlong drama centers around FBI agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose), who’s been sent to the titular town to investigate a plague of supernatural afflictions called The Troubles....
Unused ‘Akira’ Storyboards Blended Iconic Images With New Twists By Germain Lussier/March 22, 2012 1:30 pm EST Most fans of Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 animated masterpiece Akira never wanted a live action remake to happen. But Warner Bros., the studio who holds the rights, has been pushing the issue for about five years. Almost every single prominent actors in his late-twenties or early-thirties was floated as possibly playing the star of the film, Kaneda, and several directors have been attached too....
VOTD: T.Shirt’s Music Video “24 Frames” By Peter Sciretta/March 4, 2011 5:00 am EST Over 120 film titles are included in the music video for rap artist T.Shirt’s song “24 Frames”, which plays out in one-shot, features a cast of 30 friends, and travels through 2 floors of a movie theater in SoHo. Watch it now embedded after the jump. via: HighDef VOTD: T.Shirt’s Music Video “24 Frames” By Peter Sciretta/March 4, 2011 5:00 am EST...
