Posts

Jennifer Hudson In Grindhouse? By Peter Sciretta/March 22, 2007 12:29 pm EST Did You Know: Dreamgirls star and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson auditioned for Quentin Tarantino Death Proof segment of the Grindhouse exploitation double feature. “Jennifer auditioned for my movie GRINDHOUSE, and it didn’t work out. But I love her,” admits Tarantino. I bet Tarantino is regretting his casting decision now. I’m guessing that Hudson was probably gunning for the role that eventually went to either Rosario Dawson or Tracie Thoms....

Meet The Characters Of How To Train Your Dragon By Brendon Connelly/Oct. 17, 2009 4:31 am EST We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. So, here’s the book cover in all its glory. Are those twins fighting on the right of the image? I think we can quite clearly see who the hero, slightly feisty love interest, fat friend and snarling antagonist are. Doesn’t look too promising does it?...

By Devindra Hardawar/Oct. 29, 2009 8:18 pm EST We learned that Columbia was finally moving forward with a third Men in Black movie back in April, but at the time there was no script attached to the project. While there still isn’t much to report yet, we have learned that they’ve tapped the now-hot writer Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder, Idiocracy) for the screenplay. There’s no word yet on Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones’ involvement, but I can’t imagine they would bring the franchise back without featuring them in some capacity....

Movie Review: Hairspray By Peter Sciretta/July 20, 2007 10:17 am EST Hairspray is a balls to the wall musical. It’s not a performance after performance show like Dreamgirls. It doesn’t take itself too serious, even though it sometimes deals with some serious issues of racism/segragation. Usually I’m against remakes, but this is a perfect example of how to do it right. Adam Shankman has created a very different version of this movie....

Movie Review: The Lookout By Peter Sciretta/April 2, 2007 12:46 am EST Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was a popular kid in high school. Surrounded by friends and the star player of a hockey team in his small Midwestern town. But a traumatic car accident left Pratt with a type of brain damage that makes the littlest everyday situations challenging (opening a can of soup for instance). Based on ritual, patterns, and repetition, Chris records everything in a pocket notebook, to help him remember and sequence events and information....

Natalie Portman Cast In Marvel’s Thor? By Peter Sciretta/March 16, 2009 5:34 pm EST Nikkie Finke has been on a roll regarding news from the world of Marvel, which makes me think she has a good inside source. Today she posted a bunch of casting tidbits for Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. First up is Thor himself. Finke gives a list of actors who have tested for the role, including Josh Hartnett, Charlie Hunnam (Sons Of Anarchy), Tom Hiddleston (The Gathering Storm), Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables), Joel Kinnaman and the previously rumored Alexandar Skarsgard....

New Photos: Quantum Of Solace By Peter Sciretta/Sept. 1, 2008 1:14 pm EST Our friends at DVD-Forum has sent us a new batch of photos from Quantum of Solace. More after the jump. Official Plot Synopsis: Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (JUDI DENCH) interrogate Mr White (JESPER CHRISTENSEN) who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined....

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Movie Trailer By Peter Sciretta/May 9, 2008 11:58 am EST Warner Bros has released the official trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which is attached to prints of Speed Racer. I’m actually kinda impressed at the animation, considering this is just a lead up to a television animated series. And I love the stylized looks of some of the classic characters like Jabba The Hutt (as seen above), although the big epic action sequences seem a bit clunky....

The Last Airbender Teaser Trailer By Peter Sciretta/June 22, 2009 5:00 pm EST The official teaser trailer for M Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender is now online. On display are M Night’s signature extended seamless single takes (which I’ve always loved), ILM’s amazing air-bending effects and a logo that looks very similar to the Harry Potter series. Overall, it does a great job at teasing the big picture. I’m suddenly excited to see if this is the film that all the Avatar fans believe it can be....

Werner Herzog Invites Abel Ferrara To Drink, Enthuses About Bad Lieutenant’s Iguanas By Russ Fischer/Sept. 4, 2009 12:47 pm EST Possibly the best thing about Werner Herzog doing his own Bad Lieutenant film (which got a poster today) is the fireworks that have erupted between he and Abel Ferrara, who directed the Harvey Keitel-starring film that Herzog hasn’t remade. Both directors are at the Venice Film Festival this week, where it wasn’t beyond possible that some sort of confrontation, or at least conversation would take place....

WTF: New York Film Critics Name Josh Brolin Best Supporting Actor Over Heath Ledger?! By Peter Sciretta/Dec. 10, 2008 12:24 pm EST Yesterday Hollywood was a buzz with news that the Los Angeles Film Critics had awarded WALL-E “Best Picture of the Year”, a first for an animated film. Today the New York Film Critics Circle announced their yearly award winners, and the list is just as shocking – Josh Brolin (Milk) edged out Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) for the Best Supporting Actor award....

Casting Notes: Stephen Merchant And J.B. Smoove In Hall Pass; Thandie Newton, Jason Isaacs And David Tennant In Retreat; Mario Van Peebles Directs 50 Cent By Russ Fischer/Feb. 22, 2010 9:17 am EST The Farrelly Brothers start shooting their new film Hall Pass in Atlanta this week, and the cast just got an injection of additional talent. Stephen Merchant and J.B. Smoove will join Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer and Jason Sudeikis in the film about two husbands (Wilson and Sudeikis) who are given a free pass to have extra-marital adventures for a week....

Chevy Chase And Beverly D’Angelo Reunite For Another Vacation By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 19, 2009 6:32 pm EST Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo will be reprising their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold from the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies, but not for another big screen sequel (not yet, at least…). You might recall that last month we told you that New Line/Warner Bros had signed Wedding Crashers and Fred Claus director David Dobkin to produce and possibly direct a new film in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series which would follow Rusty Griswold, the son of Clark Griswold, who is now a father in his own right and takes his family on a, you guessed it, road trip vacation....

Clive Owen To Star In Soldier Vs. Mexican Gangs Actioner, Protection By Brendon Connelly/Jan. 20, 2010 5:00 pm EST According to the latest twitter actions of Production Weekly, it’s been all change both behind and in front of the camera with action drama Protection. Luckily for us, they’re both changes for the better with original director Simon West out in favour of B:13 Ultimatum’s Patrick Alessandrin and Paul Walker traded in for Clive Owen (the old line-up’s details were published by Screen Daily around the time of Cannes last year)....

Corey Haim In Crank 2 By Peter Sciretta/April 29, 2008 3:14 pm EST The Movie Blog is reporting that Corey Haim has been cast in a role in Crank 2. No other details are known at this time. Let the Haim comeback begin! AWESOME. Corey Haim In Crank 2 By Peter Sciretta/April 29, 2008 3:14 pm EST The Movie Blog is reporting that Corey Haim has been cast in a role in Crank 2....

Edgar Wright Says There Will Be Third Film In Three Flavor Trilogy By Peter Sciretta/April 5, 2007 5:45 am EST When we sat down with Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright this week, he revealed that the Shaun of the Dead trio will be making one last film in what they call the Three Flavor Trilogy: Yeah, we do have an idea. Simon and Nick are writing something and we’ve just formulated an idea for the third one in what we’re calling the three flavor trilogy – different films that all contain blood and ice cream, and that’s the only link between the three....

Emily Blunt May Be The Black Widow In Iron Man 2 By David Chen/Jan. 14, 2009 1:33 pm EST Thus far, the white-hot success of Iron Man has allowed the cast list for Iron Man 2 to shape up into something pretty exciting. We’re now learning, via Variety, that Emily Blunt is a serious contender to play the role of Natasha Romanoff in the sequel. In the comics, Romanoff is a Soviet spy skilled at sniping and martial arts (and that’s just her day job)....

Exclusive Clip From Big Fan Starring Patton Oswalt By Peter Sciretta/July 31, 2009 8:46 am EST First Independent Pictures has supplied us with an exclusive clip from Big Fan, the feature directorial debut of Robert Siegel, screenwriter of Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler and former editor of The Onion. You probably know the film better as the Patton Oswalt obsessed football fan movie. As I have warned previously, this film is not a comedy, but instead a character study....

George Lucas Reportedly Producing Mystery CGI Musical By Russ Fischer/Jan. 27, 2010 6:23 am EST LucasFilm is refusing to comment on this one so far, but THR reports that an “untitled, top-secret CGI-animated” film with a musical bent is in the works over at Skywalker Ranch, with George Lucas producing. The plot is secret, but one element currently known (or thought to be known) is faeries. Hopefully that’s more the ‘Oberon and Titania with murderous little Puck’ version of faerie, rather than the ‘sparkly little girls with wings” type....

George Lucas Talks Indiana Jones 5, Spielberg’s “Nostalgia,” Compares Fans To “Holy Ghost.” By Hunter Stephenson/July 28, 2008 5:03 pm EST When it comes to interviews, George Lucas is like that dad who never says anything too out of line, but leaves you pissed off and checking for emotional and totally unnecessary welts. In a new interview with the Times Online, he discusses Indiana Jones 5 and takes more shots at Crystal Skull and Steven Spielberg…...