-
Which Director is Strongest With the Force?
Like many Star Wars fans, it took us a while to process the news that the creator and caretaker of the greatest sci-fi epic of all time, George Lucas, had sold Lucasfilm Ltd. to Disney. And, as if that news wasn't momentous enough, Disney concurrently announced that plans were already underway for an all-new Star Wars movie, a sequel to the original trilogy that would likely be the first movie in a new trilogy.
Minds thoroughly blown, we started to think about the future of the franchise. Jar Jar Binks and Hayden Christensen's horrible acting had really hurt the prequel trilogy and Lucas' constant meddling with the original trilogy tested our faith in ol' grey beard even further. With Lucas out of the picture, could the franchise regain its former glory?
In the days following the announcement, it was revealed that Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) had been hired to write the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode VII, while rumors continue to swirl that Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) is in the running to direct. Do you think that Vaughn is the right man for the job or would you like to see J.J. Abrams (Star Trek), Jon Favreau (Cowboys & Aliens) or someone else direct? Who do you think has the vision to chart the course of the future of the Star Wars franchise?
Rate the Top 10 Best Directors To Helm Star Wars: Episode VII >>
Posted 11.13.12 by BrentJS -
So far, the cast of last year's Thor have been slowly announced as returning for the upcoming sequel Thor 2. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston were the first to be revealed as reprising their roles as Thor, Jane Foster, and Loki, respectively. In January, Jamie Alexander confirmed her return as the Asgardian warrior Sif, and then Idris Elba decided he'd confirm his return as Heimdall. Kat Dennings has said that she can't reveal whether she's coming back or not, and Joshua Dallas recently announced that he won't be returning.
Skarsgård is coming back too >> Posted 06.29.12 by Ryan -
In the end-of-year rush to release Oscar-baiting pictures, the studios shift their patronage from summer blockbusters to the auteur driven films more likely to land them a gleaming awards statuette. And while many a critically respected director is more than happy to garner a few moments of cinema sun for their more awards-bound work, what the movie-goer may not know is that just because they get critical respect doesn't mean that they don't love a good slasher flick. In fact, a lot of the time many an acclaimed director's best work comes from their own spins on good old genre pictures.
Horror movies in particular have long been a draw for many of the great moviemakers. So, we thought we’d offer a list of some of our favorite horror flicks from directors who also happen to be gunning for a Best Picture Award this year.
Read Arthouse Directors Who Aren't Afraid of the Dark >>
Posted 12.07.11 by reelz -
Leave it to writer-director Lars von Trier to attract a firestorm of media controversy. According to Variety, the 53-year-old Danish provocateur may collaborate with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro on a follow-up to Scorsese's landmark 1976 movie Taxi Driver.
It's unclear whether the project would be a re-hash, a sequel, or (heaven forbid) a prequel, and although the whole idea is currently an unsubstantiated rumor, that hasn't stopped the Berlin Film Festival from making some noise.
The idea follows in the footsteps of The Five Obstructions directed by Jørgen Leth. Von Trier was the genesis behind that project as well; he challenged Leth to remake his 1967 movie The Perfect Human five times with five different restrictions. For example, one of the five had to be completely animated.
We doubt Scorsese would remake Taxi Driver once, let alone five times, and we can only hope this is a prototypical Von Trier stunt designed to gain him as much attention as possible.
Apparently, the media hoopla got started when one of Von Trier's business partners said he could neither confirm nor deny the rumor. "There will be a statement coming shortly," he later said.
UPDATE: The Playlist reports that Von Trier's business partner has denied the rumor, saying, "I have seen it [the story] in the Danish film magazine and what is written there is not true."
Posted 02.16.10 by reelz -
Penelope Cruz is a hot commodity right now, having snagged Oscar nominations two years in a row (she won last year for Vicky Cristina Barcelona and is in the running this year for Nine). With high demand comes the potential for greater independence, and Cruz has chosen her projects carefully of late. Now, Cruz may make a move that would certainly demonstrate she is in control of her career. The Playlist writes that Cruz may get on board the next movie from Danish provocateur Lars von Trier.
The 53-year-old director thrives on controversy, having crafted movies that feature explicit sex and violence, misogyny, and bitter criticisms of the United States in particular. Von Trier was one of several Danish directors who helped draft "Dogme 95," a kind of anti-Hollywood manifesto.
He won major honors at the Cannes Film Festival with Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark. His last effort, the brutally graphic horror-drama Antichrist, won Charlotte Gainsbourg a Best Actress award at last year's Cannes Festival, but the arguably excessive sexual violence polarized audiences.
Von Trier described his upcoming project, Melancholia, as a psychological disaster movie, and he also said that he had Cruz in mind for it ahead of time. He also said there will be "no more happy endings." That sounds like a very typical, double-edged Von Trier comment: It could be an ironic reference to his own movies, which tend to end with everybody in agonizing pain, or it could be a jab at Hollywood disaster movies, which always resolve everything nicely and happily by the closing credits.
On that note, the movie's budget is a fairly small $5 million, and one of the movie's producers said the project will feature "some special effects, but nothing compared to Hollywood." Melancholia should go into production later this year, and Von Trier is shooting for entry into the 2011 Cannes Festival.
Posted 02.09.10 by reelz