UPDATE: Well, that didn’t take long. And I guess I was talking straight out of my keister about The Reader being developed expressly for Kidman. Kate Winslet was the first choice for the role of the older woman. And now she’ll get to play it! That’s a huge upgrade in my opinion, since Kidman hasn’t … Continue reading
Despite my almost lifelong loathing of the Golden Globes and everything they stand for, I have to say… I’m deeply depressed at their cancellation. Yes, they’re spectacularly irrelevant in terms of honoring exceptional filmmaking, and, sure, they’ve a checkered past what with that whole Pia Zadora/Best New Star of the Year imbroglio*. But when you’ve … Continue reading
For years, the DGA (Directors Guild of America) Awards have been the most accurate predictor of what eventually gets nominated for Best Picture; since going three-for-five in 2001, they’ve at least nominated four of the five Academy finalists. And this morning, they announced their contenders for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for 2007: Paul … Continue reading
I’m not going to pretend that I was the biggest fan of Girlfight (it was okay), and I’m certainly not going to lie and say I’ve seen more than ten or fifteen minutes of Aeon Flux (my pain threshold is selective when it comes to enduring big budget misfires*), but I still think Karyn Kusama … Continue reading
It took him a few years, but Michael Showalter is finally getting an opportunity to follow up his sublime 2005 non-hit, The Baxter. And while I find it terribly difficult to get excited over the remake of a "German comedy" (let’s see, there’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Stationmaster’s Wife and what else?), anything … Continue reading
UPDATE: Variety is reporting that Olga Kurylenko, the hot Ukranian chick from Hitman, has been cast as the female lead (i.e. love interest) in Bond 22. I don’t know how I feel about Daniel Craig getting Timothy Olyphant’s sloppy seconds, but I do know how I feel about Olga, and you’ll thank me right now … Continue reading
Perhaps that official Indy 4 comic book cover was more revealing than I initially thought. For anyone who’s been following the copious online coverage of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it should come as no surprise that the casting of Shia LaBeouf might serve a purpose other than pandering to a … Continue reading
Okay, you need to stop whatever you’re doing and set your TiVos and DVRs to record Turner Classic Movies tonight (1/4/07 or tomorrow, 1/5/07, if you’re on the east coast) at 2:00 AM EST/11:00 PM PST: Otto Preminger’s rarely screened, never-released-to-video Skidoo is going to air! If you’ve never heard of Skidoo, this is the … Continue reading
One of this year’s most intriguing projects is Steven Soderbergh’s two-part Che Guevara biopic, which, given its scope, should fire up more heated debate about the life of the revolutionary than 2004’s muted The Motorcycle Diaries. Though I’ve grown disenchanted with Soderbergh’s filmmaking of late (way too studied and joyless*), his rigorously intellectual approach could … Continue reading
There ain’t no Nielsen, there ain’t no disco, there ain’t no heads rollin’ ’round! UGO has scored the first look at Screen Gems’ PG-13 Prom Night remake, and it’s just about what you’d expect: a little glitz, a little sex and not a whole lot of blood. Directed by television veteran Nelson McCormick (he’s worked … Continue reading