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Some fans balked at news of an American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on the first book of the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy of thrillers. A Swedish version had already been released in 2009 and was finally arriving on the American DVD market just as Larsson's novels were becoming best-sellers.
For many, it was the performance by Noomi Rapace as the book and movie's heroine, Lisbeth Salander, that seemed irreplaceable. Rapace's Dragon Tattoo director, Niels Oplev, publicly expressed his frustration with the American version citing that Rapace had "captured" the character of Salander and "it should always be all her". Unfortunately for Oplev, another actress is getting the chance to portray the tattooed and pierced computer hacker.
Director David Fincher went on an exhaustive search of actresses for the role before finally casting Rooney Mara, whose most recent work was in Fincher's The Social Network. While Rooney's Salander has been caught in "spy pics" from the set, W Magazine has the first official look at the American version, looking very much in keeping with Rapace's version. Fincher told W why he cast Mara, who descends from the Rooney and Mara families that own the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.
Fincher and Mara on casting, serial killers and more >> Posted 01.12.11 by Ryan -
James Franco recently added soap opera star and Oscar host to his resume, and now he would like to add "director," as well. EW reports that Franco is interested in directing two adaptations of literary works: William Faulkner's 1930 novel As I Lay Dying and Cormac McCarthy's 1985 Western Blood Meridian. Franco's plan is to shoot the Faulkner movie this summer, with the McCarthy adaptation to follow in 2012. "I think they go together, though," Franco admitted. "I think McCarthy is really influenced by Faulkner."
Franco on Faulkner's tone and doing what Ridley Scott couldn't >> Posted 01.05.11 by Ryan -
The Social Network is often referred to as "the Facebook movie" despite the site's co-founder, and subject of the movie, Mark Zuckerberg wishing it wasn't. The movie was based on court documents and journalist Ben Mezrich's reportedly semi-fictionalized novel, The Accidental Billionaires, and Zuckerberg has publicly announced on several occasions that the movie is a work of fiction and not the truth.
With a script from Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men) and direction from David Fincher, The Social Network is poised to open in October at the New York Film Festival, and, according to The New York Times last week, without a controversial and debaucherous scene that includes Justin Timberlake.
Just how controversial? >> Posted 08.26.10 by Ryan -
After a long, exhaustive search, director David Fincher has finally found his female lead for the upcoming The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo adaptation. The search contained a short list of contenders for the role that whittled down to two actresses: Rooney Mara and Emily Browning.
In the meantime, Fincher filled out his cast. First, Daniel Craig was cast as journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who teams with a computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander to solve the 40-year-old disappearance of a woman. Fincher also cast Stellan Skarsgård and Robin Wright to some supporting roles. Natalie Portman and Emma Watson's names were also floated amongst casting rumors but appear to be debunked now that Fincher and his team have finally made their decision on whom will play Salander.
Fincher has already worked with Mara >> Posted 08.17.10 by Ryan -
Yesterday, Variety reported that David Fincher (Benjamin Button, Zodiac, Fight Club) is in talks with Columbia to direct The Social Network, an upcoming movie about the creation of Facebook. The movie would be based on a script by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Charlie Wilson's War) and tell the story of Mark Zuckerberg, who created the social networking site in 2004 while a sophomore at Harvard. In the five years since, Facebook has amassed more than 200 million users.
SlashFilm reports that the Sorkin script is actually an adaptation of the Ben Mezrich book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal, which is due in stores on July 14. On the Amazon.com page for the book, there's a plug for the movie from none other than Kevin Spacey, one of the project's producers.
You may think you know the story of the Facebook phenomenon, but youhaven't heard the whole story and never like this ... [Mezrich] tells acaptivating story of betrayal, vast amounts of cash, and two friendswho revolutionized the way humans connect to one another – only to havean enormous falling out and never speak again ... I'm currently workingwith Dana Brunetti, Scott Rudin, Mike Deluca, and Aaron Sorkin on themovie adaptation of The Accidental Billionaires.If the book is any indication, the film is going to be a must see.
We can only speculate as to Fincher's interest in a project like this. The only connection we can come up with is the theme of obsession, which has shown up repeatedly in his films, from methodical serial killers (Se7en) to the "good guys" tracking them (Zodiac). And of course, there's the anarchic ramblings of Tyler Durden in Fight Club. We're anxious to see what happens next with this project.
Posted 06.24.09 by reelz -
The transition from current events to dramatic adaptations seems to move quicker and quicker these days. Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed today that Columbia Pictures has acquired the rights to the life story of Richard Philips, the U.S. Navy captain whose ship was abducted by Somali pirates barely six weeks ago.
The movie will tell the story about the hijack, most likely with emphasis on Philips's surrendering himself to the pirates in order to save his crew. He was eventually rescued unharmed.
Kevin Spacey will produce, along with Scott Rudin, Michael DeLuca, and Dana Brunetti. No writers or actors are yet attached to the project. Columbia Studio Executive Doug Belgrad spoke to the press:
We were drawn to this remarkable story of heroism and courage as events were unfolding off the coast of Africa.
Columbia also gained the rights to Philips' upcoming memoir. No production schedule or release date has been announced for the movie.
Posted 05.28.09 by reelz