Aaron Eckhart

Aaron Eckhart Talks THE RUM DIARY and I, FRANKENSTEIN

by Christina Radish    Posted: October 29th, 2011 at 11:56 am

In The Rum Diary, adapted from the Hunter S. Thompson novel, actor Aaron Eckhart plays Sanderson, a businessman involved in shady property development deals, determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of wealthy Americans. When he meets journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp), he recruits him to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, but quickly learns that Kemp is not someone easily controlled.

At the film’s press day, Aaron Eckhart spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about what a great time he had making the film, how timeless the themes of the story are, how flattering it is to know he was the only choice for this role, and that he enjoyed watching Johnny Depp work. He also talked about his next role, playing the iconic monster in I, Frankenstein, a modern take on the classic story, and how he has no plan, when it comes to deciding which projects he’ll sign on for. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

THE RUM DIARY Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 28th, 2011 at 6:02 am

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is widely considered to be the best adaptation of a Hunter S. Thompson book, but there can be no bigger love letter to the late author than The Rum Diary.  Written and directed by Bruce Robinson, The Rum Diary draws in Thompson’s language, ideology, and attitude. The film meanders through episodic misadventures and provides mere snapshots of supporting characters, but these weaknesses become strengths because they stay true to the subtext and tone of the story.  The only misstep is the lack of chemistry in the relationship between the two lead characters, but for the most part, the movie always knows where to stumble.

Aaron Eckhart to Play Beach Boys Drummer Dennis Wilson in THE DRUMMER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 17th, 2011 at 9:27 am

Aaron Eckhart can’t stop signing on for movies.  Earlier this month he signed on to star in Stuart Beattie’s I, Frankenstein, and he’s also attached to the crime-thriller Pan and Neil LaBute’s The Geography of Hope.  According to Variety, he’s added another film to his slate by signing up to play The Beach Boys’ drummer Dennis Wilson in Randy Miller’s indie music biopic The Drummer.  Miller comments that while everyone knows about Dennis’ brother Brian, The Drummer will focus on “the last six years of Wilson’s life, before his death in 1983.”  Eckhart will executive produce and record his own renditions from Wilson’s 1977 solo album Pacific Ocean Blue.  Shooting is set to begin next year in late spring to early summer.

The ubiquitous Eckhart will be seen in theaters next Friday in The Rum Diary, and he’s also starring in the action flick The Expatriate, which currently doesn’t have a release date.

Aaron Eckhart Talks I, FRANKENSTEIN

by Christina Radish    Posted: October 14th, 2011 at 7:27 am

At this week’s press day for The Rum Diary, adapted from the Hunter S. Thompson novel and starring Johnny Depp, Collider got the opportunity to sit down with actor Aaron Eckhart for an exclusive interview. While we talked about his performance as Sanderson, an American businessman involved in shady property development deals in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the ‘60s, we will post that portion of the closer to the film’s October 28^th release date.

In the meantime, we did get a bit of an update on the project that he just signed on for Stuart Beattie’s I, Frankenstein, an action movie in which he plays the famous beast. Check out what he had to say about that, along with what attracts him to the roles he takes on, after the jump.

New Clip and 19 New Images from THE RUM DIARY

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 12th, 2011 at 2:05 pm

FilmDistrict has released 19 new images and clips from The Rum Diary.  The film is based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson and centers on a journalist who makes his way down to Puerto Rico for a life of rum-soaked leisure but ends up with a moral conflict when he encounters a beautiful woman, and her shady businessman fiancée.  As you’ll see from the clip, it’s easy to get the words “astrologer” and “astronomer” confused when you’ve been drinking and see Amber Heard skinny-dipping.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and the images.  The film also stars Johnny Depp, Richard Jenkins, and Aaron Eckhart.  The Rum Diary opens October 28th.

Aaron Eckhart to Star in I, FRANKENSTEIN

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 7th, 2011 at 10:43 am

Aaron Eckhart will star as Frankenstein’s monster, “Adam Frankenstein” in Stuart Beattie’s adaptation of Kevin Grevioux’s comic I, Frankenstein.  The modern-day update of Mary Shelley’s classic horror tome has Adam “caught in an all-out, centuries old war between two immortal clans” (you mean like Underworld, which Grevioux also wrote?).  Beattie says that while Shelley’s story “is about the creation of the first human being. This is the story about that being becoming human.”  Step one: don’t accidentally kill little girls.  While the story seems like a retread and I don’t really care if Frankenstein learns to become human (what’s unnerving about Shelley’s story is that modern man may reach for greatness but its primal instincts are for death and destruction), you’ve always got a solid actor in your cast when you hire Eckhart.

Hit the jump for the press release.  I, Frankenstein is slated to open February 22, 2013.  Eckhart will next be seen in The Rum Diary.  He’s also signed on to star in the spy thriller The Expatriate, the Peter Pan­-inspired crime drama Pan, and he’ll reunite with director Neil LaBute for The Geography of Hope.

First Images from THE EXPATRIATE Starring Aaron Eckhart and FIRE WITH FIRE Starring Josh Duhamel

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 29th, 2011 at 11:35 am

New images have gone online for the upcoming action flicks The Expatriate and Fire with Fire.  The Expatriate stars Aaron Eckhart as a former CIA agent who moves to Belgium with his estranged 15-year-old daughter (Liana Liberato) and takes a job as a security consultant at a multinational corporation.  But then he discovers that his co-workers are gone, the corporation no longer exists and his assistant is actually a trained operative trying to kill him.  Upside: great dental program.  Olga Kurylenko co-stars as Eckhart’s former lover/CIA partner tasked with tracking him down.

As for Fire with Fire, the film stars Josh Duhamel as a fireman who has to take matters into his own hands when he’s threatened by a man he’s going to testify against.  Hint: he does it with fire.  The film also stars Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, 50 Cent, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson.  It could end up in theaters, but my gut tells me this is headed straight to DVD with maybe a cursory stint on VOD.  Hit the jump to check out the images.  No release dates have been announced for The Expatriate or Fire with Fire.

First Trailer for THE RUM DIARY Starring Johnny Depp

by Jason Barr    Posted: August 25th, 2011 at 6:12 pm

The first trailer from writer/director Bruce Robinson’s The Rum Diary is now available online. Starring Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Aaron Eckhart, Richard Jenkins, and Giovanni Ribisi, the film is based on Hunter S. Thompson’s novel of the same name and centers on journalist Paul Kemp (Depp) who moves to Puerto Rico where he eventually finds both his voice as a writer and his integrity. I know people have been waiting for this film to finally make it before their eyes for some time and, as far as first impressions go, the trailer doesn’t disappoint. Moviegoers may pay to see Depp revisit the mind of Thompson, but they’ll stay for Jenkins’ wig.

Check out the trailer after the jump. The Rum Diary opens later this year on October 28th.

Aaron Eckhart, AnnaSophia Robb, and Sean Bean Join Ben Hibon’s Dark PETER PAN Re-Imagining

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 10th, 2011 at 12:36 pm

There are various Peter Pan re-imaginings scooting their way through development.  There’s the terrible-sounding prequel Pan that stars Channing Tatum and sets Peter and Captain Hook as brothers.  Disney is considering the a promising adaptation of Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson’s Peter and the Starcatchers, which has Peter and the Lost Boys as the pirates.  And then there’s my favorite among the adaptations—an action-thriller, also titled Pan, directed by Ben Hibon.  If you’re not familiar with Hibon, he directed the beautiful animated sequence in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.  Pan was originally set up as a directing vehicle for Guillermo del Toro, but Hibon came on board to helm the picture last November.  The story is a dark re-imagining of J.M. Barrie’s tale which has Captain Hook as a haunted former police detective in pursuit of a childlike kidnapper.

Now the first cast members have been revealed and it’s an exciting line-up: Aaron Eckhart, Sean Bean, and AnnaSophia Robb.  Hit the jump for more details on their characters.

Neil LaBute and Aaron Eckhart to Reunite for THE GEOGRAPHY OF HOPE; Ed Harris to Co-Star

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 6th, 2011 at 9:53 am

Aaron Eckhart is set to reunite with writer/director Neil LaBute for his next film The Geography of Hope. The 1970s-set indie centers on two crooks who flee to Baja, Mexico after a bank robbery gone bad. Once there, they encounter a number of American women and are torn between swindling or romancing them. 24 Frames reports that Ed Harris is set to co-star in the film alongside Eckhart as the other crook.

Eckhart and LaBute have collaborated four times before, most recently with 2002’s Posession. LaBute wrote the script for Hope years ago, but put it on the backburner when his theater career took off. The plan is to shoot The Geography of Hope sometime this year in Puerto Rico.

RABBIT HOLE DVD Review

by Keith Demko    Posted: April 25th, 2011 at 7:00 am

On paper, John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole would seem to be the most dour of viewing experiences: A movie about a couple dealing with the death of their young son, and how to continue in its wake. What it has in common with Mitchell’s debut movie, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, however, is that in spite of it subject matter its a little joy to watch and is spiked throughout with humorous touches that make it all the sweeter to take in.

And it certainly doesn’t hurt that the couple at the center of this is played by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. Kidman, in particular, is at her very best here, and received a Best Actress Oscar nomination, though of course lost out (rightly) to Natalie Portman for Black Swan in a very talented field.  Hit the jump for a review of Rabbit Hole on DVD.

Olga Kurylenko and Liana Liberato Join Aaron Eckhart in THE EXPATRIATE

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: April 13th, 2011 at 7:57 pm

Since he was first cast in the spy thriller The Expatriate last November, Aaron Eckhart has become a bona fide action star thanks to Battle: Los Angeles ($185 million worldwide and counting).  Appropriately, Eckhart will be awarded his own Bond girl for his follow-up.  Variety reports Quantum of Solace siren Olga Kurylenko will play “a CIA agent assigned to track down her former CIA partner and lover (Eckhart).”  Additionally, Liana Liberato (Trust) has been cast as Eckhart’s daughter.  Director Philipp Stölzl is currently filming The Expatriate in Montreal; production will shift to Brussels in May.

Read more about the project after the break.

FilmDistrict to Release THE RUM DIARY Starring Johnny Depp on October 28th

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 29th, 2011 at 11:10 am

We haven’t heard much about Bruce Robinson’s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s The Rum Diary since we ran some images from the flick last June.  It was slightly worrisome that a movie that starred Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli, Richard Jenkins, and Giovanni Ribisi was sitting on the shelf, but now that worry can be set aside.  FilmDistrict has announced that they have picked up the film and will release in the heart of awards season on October 28th.

The story centers on itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Depp) who moves to Puerto Rico and eventually discovers his voice as a writer and his integrity.  Hit the jump for a full synopsis and the press release.  The only other films currently opening on October 28th are the horror flick Dibbuk Box and Andrew Niccol’s sci-fi thriller Now starring Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake.

Aaron Eckhart Interview BATTLE: LOS ANGELES

by Christina Radish    Posted: March 11th, 2011 at 2:25 pm

In the sci-fi action-thriller Battle: Los Angeles, the possibility of UFOs landing on Earth becomes a terrifying reality when the world is attacked by unknown forces. When Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind, a battle arises between the aliens and a platoon of Marines, led by Second Lieutenant William Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez) and with veteran Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), who was on the brink of retirement before being called back into service. This group quickly becomes a family, as they take on an enemy unlike anything they’ve ever encountered before and search for a way to defend their lives and their loved ones.

At the film’s press day, actor Aaron Eckhart talked about his desire to do a war movie, breaking his arm during a stunt, how he’s had his own UFO experience, and how he enjoyed playing the hero. He also talked about how much he enjoyed working with Johnny Depp on The Rum Diary. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 11th, 2011 at 7:36 am

The Marines used to run commercials that would show a young man taking a sword and battling a fire-breathing dragon.  I was always left wondering if anyone ever saw one of those ads, thought “I need to get in on that dragon-fighting action” and were left sorely disappointed when they discovered that the job was short on dragon-slaying, but long on getting shot at.

That recruitment ad has now been expanded to a feature length film with Jonathan Liebesman’s Battle: Los Angeles.  While it’s slightly more realistic than sword-fighting a dragon, a platoon of marines taking on space aliens isn’t really what the actual job entails.  On a technical level, the film is a dazzling special effects punch of sight and sound that will keep you pinned to your seat and rooting for a small band of soldiers to complete their mission.  But there’s nothing thoughtful underneath and the hollowness of the undertaking that may support our troops, but doesn’t provide them with the honesty they deserve.

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