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Playing a former President or First Lady is becoming a trend in movies these days, especially with Precious director Lee Daniels' upcoming The Butler, which will span eight different administrations while it tells the story of White House butler Eugene Allen. While Alan Rickman will play actor-turned-President Ronald Reagan in that project, it looks like Michael Douglas will also get a chance to play Reagan as well.
Catch more casting tonight Weekdays 5:30p ET / 2:30p PT
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One of the greatest coming-of-age stories in English literature, Great Expectations, is once again getting the big screen treatment, this time at the hands of Mike Newell, director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Newell has brought along Harry Potter alums Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter to play Magwitch and Miss Havisham, with Jeremy Irvine as Pip, the poor orphan who becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor, and Holiday Granger as Pip's eternal love and tormenter, Estella. The movie does not yet have a U.S. distribution deal, but from the looks of the elegant, moody international trailer that was just released, it should have no problem getting picked up after it debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
All trailers, every show Saturdays 10:00a ET / 7:00a PT
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The adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's bestselling mashup novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies took a step backward when it was announced that writer-director David O. Russell and star Natalie Portman both exited the project. Russell reportedly left behind a terrific script, however, as well as the possibility of Scarlett Johansson and Bradley Cooper joining as the leads, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. With the project looking promising, several directors started lining up for the job last month. Weeks later, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies may finally have a director (again).
Who has been offered the job? >> Posted 11.06.10 by Ryan -
Looks like the adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies may have some life left. After writer-director David O. Russell decided to quit the project, star Natalie Portman quickly followed suit, leaving the promising project, based on author Seth Grahame-Smith's successful mashup novel that combined zombies and Jane Austen's classic, completely empty. That may have all changed.
Who will direct? >> Posted 10.18.10 by Ryan -
Three new images from Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time have made their way online. Two of the images show Jake Gyllenhaal in action as Prince Dastan, while the third image offers a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot.
In the first image, Prince Dastan acrobatically hides from armed pursuers both above and below him. In the second image, Prince Dastan holds the Dagger of Time, the only object capable of stopping the terrible Sands of Time that Prince Dastan unwittingly unleashed. The third image offers a reverse-angle look at Gemma Arterton as Princess Tamina as she is being shot from two different cameras.
Additionally, a new Russian-language poster for the Sands of Time has appeared online. Unlike the muted colors of the character-centric U.S. posters, the Russian poster is vibrant and depicts the epic scale of the movie.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Mike Newell, and also stars Alfred Molina andSir Ben Kingsley.
Posted 03.05.10 by BrentJS -
The second trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is available online and shows why Jake Gyllenhaal found working on the movie to be "really fun."
Mike Newell directs the adaptation of Ubisoft's popular video game franchise, which stars Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, who must join forces with Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) to stop the evil Nizam (Sir Ben Kingsley) from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the entire world.
Posted 03.03.10 by Ryan -
It's been nearly two years since it was first announced that Jerry Bruckheimer was developing an updated Lone Ranger movie for Disney. Since that announcement, it has been revealed that Johnny Depp will play the title hero's trusty partner, Tonto, and that screenwriter Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road) has been hired to work on the script. However, there's still no lead actor or director attached.
Director Mike Newell (Love in the Time of Cholera) was once rumored to be helming the Ranger's updated exploits, but he recently told MTV that there is no truth to the rumor connecting him to the movie
They've never talked to me about The Lone Ranger.
That being said, Newell did admit that he would jump at the chance to direct the movie and even added a little rumor fuel of his own to The Lone Ranger fire.
The thing that interested me was those two names — George Clooney playing the Lone Ranger and Depp playing Tonto. I thought that was a piece of casting so stuffed with wonderful comic possibilities, I remember saying to my agent, "Geez, if that's what they want from it, boy would I kill for that."
Newell's latest movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, is completed and awaiting release in May. His next project is reportedly a movie adaptation of Alan Cowell's book, The Terminal Spy, about the true story of the 2006 poisoning death of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko. Newell is co-writing the adaptation with David Scarpa and plans to direct.
Posted 02.24.10 by BrentJS -
The mysterious poisoning death of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko was one of the most sensational news stories of 2006. Afforded political asylum from Russia in the United Kingdom, Litvinenko died of "acute radiation syndrome" three weeks after being exposed to polonium-210. On his deathbed, Litvienenko accused then-President and current Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, with his murder.
If you think the story sounds like the plot of a spy movie, you would be right. Or rather, it will be, as two studios are looking to adapt the true-life espionage story for the big screen. Michael Mann (Public Enemies) announced that he planned to produce and direct an adaptation of Litvinenko's story for Sony back in January 2007. Now, Variety is reporting that Mike Newell, director of Disney's upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, will write and direct a second adaptation of Litvinenko's story for Warner Bros.
Newell's as-yet-untitled movie will use Alan Cowell's book The Terminal Spy as a basis for the script, which he is writing with the assistance of David Scarpa, the screenwriter recently tapped to reboot the Daredevil franchise. Producer Ollie Madden of Warner's London division acquired the rights to Cowell's book in January 2007 and will oversee the project.
Posted 02.15.10 by BrentJS -
A new featurette for producer Jerry Bruckheimer's latest action-adventure movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, recently aired on The Disney Channel and quickly made its way onto YouTube. While most of the footage has been seen before, the featurette does contain some new commentary from the set by title star Jake Gyllenhaal.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was directed by Mike Newell and also stars Gemma Arterton, Sir Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Toby Kebbell, Reece Ritchie, Richard Coyle, and Steve Toussaint.
Posted 01.06.10 by BrentJS -
The trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has arrived online, courtesy of IGN. The adaptation of Ubisoft's video game stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, and Sir Ben Kingsley.
Set in sixth century Persia, The Sands of Time follows Prince Dastan (Gyllenhaal) as he joins forces with Princess Tamina (Arterton) to stop the evil Nizam (Kingsley) from using the Sands of Time to unleash a sandstorm that could destroy the entire world.
Watch the trailer below:
The Sands of Time is directed by Mike Newell and opens May 28, 2010.
Posted 11.03.09 by Ryan