Al Pacino

Casting Call: Katherine Heigl Up for Film Noir Puppet Comedy THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS; Al Pacino Set as Villain in DESPICABLE ME 2

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 3rd, 2012 at 12:23 pm

We’ve got some casting news concerning two upcoming “kids” movies to share with you this afternoon. First up, Katherine Heigl is in talks to star in the film noir puppet comedy The Happytime Murders. You read that right, a film noir puppet comedy. The film comes from director Brian Henson (son of puppet pioneer Jim Henson) and has been in development at the Henson Company for quite some time. The pic takes place in a world inhabited by both humans and puppets, but puppets are viewed as second-class citizens. The logline goes like this:

“When the puppet cast of an 1980s kids TV show gets murdered one by one, a disgraced detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case.”

Hit the jump for more on this decidedly dark puppet tale, as well as news concerning Al Pacino in Despicable Me 2.

Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin to Star in Action-Comedy STAND UP GUYS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 1st, 2012 at 1:45 pm

A trio of Hollywood veterans is set for the action-comedy Stand Up Guys. THR reports that Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin will star in the project for director Fisher Stevens (Just a Kiss). The story “centers on two aging criminals, one of whom has been hired to kill his friend. They decide to enjoy one last night of debauchery in which they hit up a brothel, steal some cars and evade police but also face the choices they made in their lives.” I genuinely love Pacino, Walken, and Arkin but I can’t help but worry that the project might veer into Old Dogs territory. They’re undeniably legends of the silver screen so I’m hoping their talent won’t be wasted, but action-comedies are incredibly hard to pull off and the tone has to be nailed perfectly.

Hopefully my apprehension will be unfounded, but I remain cautiously optimistic about the project. Walken is currently filming Seven Psychopaths with Colin Farell, Arkin recently wrapped Ben Affleck’s Argo, and Pacino will next be seen in the untitled Phil Spector biopic on HBO.

Universal’s SCARFACE Project to be Scripted by David Ayer

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: November 29th, 2011 at 4:42 pm

When last we reported on the third iteration of Scarface, Universal was still courting writers to tackle the script. The studio has downplayed talk of the new film as a “remake,” calling it a blending of the elements present in director Howard Hawks’ 1932 version and Brian De Palma’s 1983 classic starring Al Pacino. It looks like David Ayer (Training Day) will be the man to bring the variations on the theme together to make a Scarface that is hopefully greater than the sum of its parts.

While the 1932 version featured Paul Muni as an Italian gangster who climbed the criminal ranks in Chicago and the Pacino version centers on a Cuban immigrant seizing control of Miami, the new Scarface will have the flavors of the old with a contemporary twist. The story will focus on an immigrant who brings his own brand of ruthless violence to upset the criminal order and establish himself as the kingpin. Hit the jump to see what Ayer has to say about all three versions of Scarface.

SCARFACE and UNITED 93 Blu-ray Reviews

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: September 20th, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Brian De Palma’s Scarface is one of the most entertaining bad movies ever made. Overwrought, overacted (by Al Pacino, Michelle Pfieffer and Robert Loggia, among others), overlong, its indulgences make it the definitive 80′s movie par excellence. I kinda love it. Paul Greengrass’s United 93 dramatizes one of the most traumatic episodes in American history. What do they have in common? Violence, and the fact that Universal has issued both on Blu-ray. Check out our reviews for both on Blu-ray after the jump.

Trailer, Poster, and Images for Al Pacino’s WILDE SALOME

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 30th, 2011 at 9:33 pm

Wilde Salome is a curious little project.  Al Pacino’s voiceover in the trailer puts it nicely:

“I’m doing a play.  I’m doing a movie of the play.  And I’m doing a documentary all at the same time.  I have to function two ways: one as a director dealing with a camera, and the other as an actor.  I’ve got too much to do!”

Pacino starred opposite Jessica Chastain in the Oscar Wilde play Salome, and was inspired to explore his Wilde obsession on film.  I’m not entirely sure what to make of Wilde Salome, especially since it’s billed as both a documentary and a drama.  At the very least, Wilde Salome should offer a long look at Pacino at his most manic.  To get a better sense, hit the jump for the trailer, poster, and images.

Collider Attends the SCARFACE Blu-Ray Party

by Hunter Daniels    Posted: August 24th, 2011 at 7:21 am

Mega Producer Robert Evans likes to tell stories about Hollywood parties with mountains of white powder spread across mirrored coffee tables. Tuesday night at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, I finally saw one myself. Except this mountain of powder was just sugar, part of the set dressing for a Q&A celebrating the 25^th anniversary Blu-Ray of Brian De Palma’s 1983 gangster opus, Scarface.

The Q&A, with Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, F. Murray Abraham and producer Martin Bregman covered the whole of the film’s history, ranging from discussion of the original 1932 Howard Hawks film, to the poor critical reception upon release, through to the film’s rebirth as required viewing for hip-hop heads everywhere.  Read on for a description of the night and key quotes.  The new Blu-ray of Scarface hits stores on September 6th.

First Trailer for JACK AND JILL Starring Adam Sandler

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: July 8th, 2011 at 12:03 pm

With the Kevin James “fat guy gets hit in the head with various objects” comedy Zookeeper opening today, it’s time for the trailer for an equally terrible-looking movie: the Adam Sandler-starred Jack and Jill. In the film, Sandler plays the dual roles of twin brother and sister Jack and Jill. Katie Holmes and Al Pacino (yes, that Al Pacino) co-star. The trailer looks like it could actually be a semi-amusing SNL sketch, but the premise holding up for a feature-length film seems more like a test designed to see how you fare under torture.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Directed by Dennis Dugan, Jack and Jill also stars Shaquille O’Neal, Dana Carvey, Regis Philbin and Santiago Segura. The film hits theaters November 11^th.

Barry Levinson to Direct Al Pacino in THE HUMBLING This Fall Before Shooting GOTTI: THREE GENERATIONS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 10th, 2011 at 3:05 pm

Director Barry Levinson, who’s been busy putting together the large-scale mob flick Gotti: Three Generations, has decided to shoot another film this fall before commencing production on Gotti. Levinson will reunite with his You Don’t Know Jack star Al Pacino (who’s also set to star in Gotti) in an adaptation of Phillip Roth’s novel The Humbling. The film centers on a famous retired stage actor in decline who moves to upstate New York with a much younger woman, resulting in his reinvigoration.

Deadline reports that the plan is to shoot The Humbling this fall, with Levinson currently working on filling out the rest of his cast. He co-wrote the script alongside Buck Henry and Michal Zebede. Levinson recently took over directing duties on Gotti: Three Generations after Nick Cassavetes left the project. He and his Bugsy co-writer James Toback are now giving Gotti a page-one rewrite, and while the cast could change once the script is finished, he’s very keen on Pacino and John Travolta starring in the film. Hit the jump for more, including a synopsis of Phillip Roth’s The Humbling.

Al Pacino Circling Dan Fogelman’s IMAGINE

by Jason Barr    Posted: June 6th, 2011 at 5:37 pm

Apparently intrigued by the prospect of playing an aging rock star, Al Pacino is currently in talks to star in Dan Fogelman’s directorial debut Imagine. According to 24 Frames, the potential turn would see Pacino’s character attempt to turn over a new leaf shortly after receiving a letter that his idol John Lennon had sent him forty years prior. Landing the legendary Pacino would be par for the course for the budding Fogelman who has experienced a ton of recent success having penned hits such as Cars and Tangled. Additionally, the scribe-turned-director also wrote Crazy, Stupid, Love. starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone, as well as My Mother’s Curse starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand.

As for Pacino, the iconic actor has been absent from the silver screen since 2008′s Righteous Kill. In addition to possibly joining Imagine, he has also signed on to play crime boss Neil Dellacroce in Gotti: Three Generations and can be seen alongside Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche, and Channing Tatum in the crime/thriller The Son of No One which is still searching for a release date. Finally, while I’m all for Pacino taking on Imagine I can’t help but think of what might have been. As late as last month, Carell was still attached to the project to play the estranged son of Pacino’s rock star character. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts have forced Carell off of the project (he remains a producer, however) essentially robbing moviegoers of the opportunity to see what type of screen dynamics the pair may have had.

Al Pacino Joins Barry Levinson’s GOTTI: THREE GENERATIONS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 10th, 2011 at 8:33 am

Every time Al Pacino tries to escape the mob genre, they pull him back in.  THR reports that the loud actor will reunite with his You Don’t Know Jack director Barry Levinson for Gotti: Three Generations.  Pacino will play Gambino crime family underboss Neil Dellacroce, an associate and mentor to Gotti Sr. (John Travolta).  The cast also includes Kelly Preston as Gotti Sr.’s wife Victoria, Ella Bleu Travolta as Gotti Sr. and Victoria’s daughter Angel, Joe Pesci as Gotti Sr.’s associate Angelo Ruggiero, and Lindsay Lohan as John Gotti Jr.’s wife Kim.  Despite the cast and the director, I can’t shake the feeling that this movie is going straight to DVD, or, at best, will straight to HBO.

The remaining key roles to be cast are John Gotti Jr. and his sister Victoria.  James Toback (Bugsy) has been hired to revise Leo Rossi’s original script.

2011 SAG Awards: THE KING’S SPEECH and THE FIGHTER Each Win Two Awards

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 30th, 2011 at 8:16 pm

The Screen Actors Guild handed out awards for the 17th time tonight with The King’s Speech and The Fighter each taking home two wins.  Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech won awards in the “Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture” (more or less, SAG’s equivalent to the Academy’s “Best Picture” category ) and “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role” for Colin Firth.  Meanwhile, David O. Russell’s The Fighter dominated the supporting categories by landing “Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role” awards for both Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.  In what should be (in my opinion, at least) an open-shut case for the Academy, Natalie Portman was awarded “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role” for her stellar work in Black Swan.

For those wondering what, if any, effect the SAG Awards may have on the eventual Academy Awards, it’s important to note that the event is believed to be a better gauge of Oscar winners than its most recent predecessor (the Golden Globes).  This is because the Screen Actors Guild is comprised mostly of American actors (the largest branch of the Academy) as opposed to the Globes which is made-up of a smaller group of foreign journalists known as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.  Long story short (though certainly not etched in stone), look for The King’s Speech to take home Best Picture next month.

Hit the jump to check out the complete list of winners (television included) from the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

THE SON OF NO ONE Trailer

by Bill Graham    Posted: January 20th, 2011 at 6:04 pm

The Sundance Film Festival kicked off today and while reviews/news will be pouring in for the next ten days, the trailer for the closing-night film, The Son of No One, has hit the Internet today. Written/directed by Dito Montiel (Fighting), the crime drama tells the story of two friends (Channing Tatum and Tracy Morgan) who must face the consequences of a murder they committed.

In addition to Tatum and Morgan, the film features an impressive cast that also includes Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Ray Liotta, and Juliette Binoche. One of the more noteworthy aspects of the film is that Morgan, best known for his wild antics on the hilarious NBC comedy 30 Rock, will be playing the film straight.  While fans of him rubbing his bare belly may be disappointed, co-star Tatum told MTV, “I think Tracy Morgan is going to shock the world. Nobody has ever seen him do drama or anything like that.” Hit the jump for the full (mysteriously edited) trailer and synopsis.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK Wins 4 Golden Globe Awards Including Best Motion Picture (Drama)

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 16th, 2011 at 8:15 pm

I have just endured three painful hours of the Golden Globes.  Thankfully, folks who deserved awards got them (except for Community, which wasn’t even nominated, so way to screw that up, Hollywood Foreign Press Association).  You can click here to check out my live blog of the entire ceremony, but if you just want a listing of who won what, then hit the jump.  The Social Network took home four Golden Globes including Best Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin), Best Director (David Fincher), and Best Motion Picture (Drama).

Matt Live-Blogs the 2011 Golden Globe Awards

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 16th, 2011 at 4:53 pm

Tonight I’ll be live-blogging the 2011 Golden Globe Awards.  The Golden Globes continue to receive attention because they used to be seen as a reliable indicator of what films would be receiving Orscar love.  However, due to shifting deadlines, Oscar ballots are already due and there’s no way that the Globes can affect the Oscar nominees.  Also, the Globes, which are hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are known for being delightfully carefree with their integrity and will nominate you if you show them enough love.  They’re basically like the MTV Movie Awards except they serve food and there aren’t any sketches.

However, I think host Ricky Gervais will do a fine job tonight and I’m curious to see if the Globes will follow through on their clearly bought-and-paid-for-love of films like Burlesque and The Tourist.  Click here for a list of the nominees and hit the jump for my on-going live-blog and be sure to keep refreshing the page for my comments.  The 2011 Golden Globe Awards air at 8pm (EST) on NBC.

Sundance 2011: First Images from Dito Montiel’s THE SON OF NO ONE Starring Channing Tatum

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 8th, 2010 at 1:33 pm

We have the first images from Dito Montiel’s new drama The Son of No One, which is set to premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival at the closing night film.  The plot centers on two men in post-9/11 New York who are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation of these shocking and personal secrets.  The film stars Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Juliette Binoche, Ray Liotta, Katie Holmes, and Tracy Morgan.  Tatum also starred in Montiel’s previous two films, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and Fighting.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20 – 30th.

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