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Catherine Hardwicke has built a career bringing teen angst to life on the big screen. This, alone, made her a good pick to direct Twilight, the movie version of the romantic vampire story. But perhaps more important to the millions of tweens eagerly awaiting the November 21 release, Hardwick is also a big fan of the Bella and Edward books. See our interview with Hardwicke for movie details and her take on the duo's epic romance.
Posted 08.26.08 by reelz -
Hot on the heels of the Fast & Furious trailerdebut on MySpace, Universal today released a bunch of new images from the upcoming fourthchapter of the blockbuster street-racing saga, which reunites The Fast and theFurious stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and JordanaBrewster. They also released the following story synopsis:
"When a crime brings them back toL.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent BrianO’Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Domand Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuverhim. And fromconvoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two menwill find the best way to get revenge: push thelimits of what’s possible behind the wheel."
A shared enemy? An uncertain new trust? Revenge?!? Next summer cannot comesoon enough.
Posted 08.25.08 by reelz -
The Mark Millar comic Kick-Ass, which has been dubbed too violent for Sony and several other major Hollywood studios, is moving forward as an indie. Christopher Mintz-Plasse -- who showed off his ballistic prowess in Superbad as the thuggish, gun-wielding McLovin -- is in talks to play another heavy. This time a gangster's son. Last week, Nicolas Cage joined the cast.
Meanwhile: Too violent for Hollywood? What could possibly be too violent for Hollywood? Does Kick-Ass show non-exclusive premium cable distribution deals getting brutally eviscerated, or something similarly horrifying to the average producer? Nope, it's simply about a bunch of really young crimefighters taking on grown-up baddies in Hollywood's usual shoot-first-then-shoot-more-later style.
Posted 08.25.08 by reelz -
When Watchmen, Zack Snyder's $100-million translation of the classic Alan Moore graphic novel finally comes out in March, it will get the usual 100-word capsule reviews in all the best glossy magazines. In other words, people will still be interested in it, but not that interested. Because then it will be a movie playing in theaters, instead of an object of endless, abstract speculation. In its current incarnation, of course, it's eminently more fascinating. Thus, Entertainment Weekly devotes 624 words to Kevin Smith's reaction to an early screening of the movie -- never mind the fact that Kevin Smith doesn't actually say anything about Watchmen that the long-dead thumb of Gene Siskel couldn't have said, too, in a much more eloquent and witty fashion.
Posted 08.25.08 by reelz -
Next summer, Babylon A.D.'s Vin Diesel returns to the franchise that helped make him a star with Fast &Furious*, the fourth chapter of the blockbuster street-racing saga.Diesel, who turned down a role in 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furiousin order to focus on making fancy art films like The Chronicles ofRiddick and The Pacifier, reunites with FFco-stars Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez in what is sure to be the top drug-smuggling street-racer movie of 2009.
The Fast & Furious trailer unspooled over the weekend in front of Death Race. Today it makes its official online debut -- in sparkling HD -- at noon pacific over at MySpace's Trailer Park.
*My title suggestions, Fast and Fourious and Fast/Furious, were rejected by Universal.
Posted 08.25.08 by reelz -
Michael Phelps' Olympic triumphs are the talk of the town these days, the most attention Olympic swimming has received in America since Mark Spitz set the original record 36 years ago in Munich.
And just two days after the Beijing closing ceremonies, Phelps is wasting no time capitalizing on his success. Variety reports that Phelps has just inked a deal with Simon and Schuster to pen a telling of his exploits entitled Built to Succeed. The book will have a quick turnaround, with a Holiday 2008 release planned.
Considering the ratings success of the Beijing Olympics coupled with the likely bestseller status of Phelps' forthcoming memoir, how long will it be before Hollywood comes calling?
The main thing going against a potential Phelps movie is swimming's less-than-stellar history on the big screen. 2003's Swimming Upstream, starring Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis, scored strong reviews but disappeared from theaters quicker than a 4 X 100. Other entries include the critically maligned thriller Swimfan and Burt Lancaster's 1968 flick The Swimmer. M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water isn't exactly about swimming, but it did give the pool a bad rap.
Should a Phelps movie ultimately happen, we have a few suggestions for casting. As '70s Spitz, we pick Matthew McConaughey. Considering his proclivity for topless status and proper physique, he's just one 'stache away from the perfect look. If Matt doesn't want to don old-age makeup to play present-day Spitz, we suggest Robert Redford. And for Phelps? Well, if Phelps has the acting chops, why not let him play the part himself? But since Tinseltown will probably want a star for the lead, we pick Joaquin Phoenix.
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Today Mike Judge, the Woody Allen of dumb mall culture, starts work on his latest feature, Extract. After 20th Century Fox treated Judge's Idiocracy exactly like you'd expect a major Hollywood studio to treat a modestly amusing, anti-corporate satire whose climatic scene involves a character extolling the virtues of reading, Judge is now working with Miramax. Extract is the story of a factory owner whose company manufactures flower-extract products -- and, we're guessing, ennui, frustration, and a vague longing for a more fulfilling life. In other words, we think Extract will be like Judge's cult-classic Office Space, only from Lumberg's point of view.
Posted 08.25.08 by reelz -
Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO