While talking to German actor Thomas Kretschmann about his recent turn opposite James McAvoy in this weekend's mega-thriller, Wanted, we made sure to get some dish on his next big-profile movie, Tom Cruise's German WWII drama, Valkyrie.
In Valkyrie, Kretschmann plays Major Otto Remer. "He brought the uprising down, almost singlehandedly" Kretschmann explains. "I'm basically Tom Cruise's adversary in the film."
Valkyrie, in which Cruise plays the real-life Nazi officer who tried to assassinate Hitler, has been plagued by troubles from the start -- from accidents to the German government denying access to shoot locations to repeated release date changes. "I understand that the Germans were nervous about somebody like a big Hollywood star playing their super idol," Kretschmann tells us.
"But after all, I think they convinced the Germans that our intentions are not to do a big Hollywood spectacle and use German history for our needs, to please the audience in whatever way. There were serious efforts to tell a story in the way it was and also give a little bit of a lesson, so I think the Germans figured that out and they're really pleased with it."
And as for his personal experience on the shoot, and in particular his controversial co-star Tom Cruise, Kretschmann has nothing but praise. "I never had a head of a studio and a producer and a partner who was treating me so nicely."
Posted 06.25.08 by reelz 
This morning's big news is that John Grogan's bestselling memoir about his crazy dog, Marley & Me, is going to be made into a movie. Owen Wilson will star as Grogan and Jennifer Aniston as his wife, as the two try to survive family life with the world's most insane yet lovable lab. We know it sounds sappy, but we read the book and it was good.
David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) will direct, says Variety.
In other news, Bachelor No. 2 and The Young Victoria are both filling out their casts.
Jason Biggs (yes, he of the pie porking in American Pie) and Lizzy Caplan (Mean Girls, Related) will take supporting roles as the best friends in the Dane Cook-Kate Hudson romantic comedy Bachelor No. 2, says The Hollywood Reporter. And Variety is reporting that Paul Bettany (The Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind) and Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, The Pianist) have joined the cast of the Scorsese-produced Queen Victoria biopic, The Young Victoria. Bettany will play Victoria's advisor Lord Melbourne and Kretschmann will play King Leopold of Belgium.
Posted 08.20.07 by reelz