Antonio Banderas

Gwyneth Paltrow in Talks to Join Antonio Banderas in Pablo Picasso Film GUERNICA 33 DAYS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 17th, 2012 at 3:35 pm

Though we’ve most recently only seen her in brief roles in both Contagion and The Avengers, Gwyneth Paltrow is lining up a major role in the drama Guernica 33 Days.  The story centers on Pablo Picasso’s emotional turmoil as he painted his masterpiece, with Antonio Banderas onboard to play the legendary artist.  Variety reports that Paltrow is in talks to play Picasso’s lover Dora Maar, a Spanish-speaking French photographer who snapped the stages of “Guernica’s” creation.  Paltrow speaks Spanish, having lived as an exchange student in Spain during her teenage years, and she recently flaunted her Español skills as a substitute Spanish teacher on Glee (for which she actually won an Emmy for some reason).

Paltrow’s a strong actress when given the right material, so hopefully she can shine in Guernica.  Carlos Saura (The Hunt) is set to direct, and production will begin in mid-September.  The Spain-financed pic also stars Imanol Arlas and Barbara Goenaga.  Paltrow is next set to shoot Iron Man 3.

HAYWIRE Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: May 4th, 2012 at 9:30 am

Steven Soderbergh approached Haywire as a chance to turn Gina Carano into a movie star. As she’s been cast in the next Fast and Furious movie, it’s likely that we’ll see more from her. But Soderbergh approached doing an action movie as an art project, so he played with the structure and style of the modern action film. It’s ambitious, and not entirely successful. But he was right on the money that Carano can carry a movie. Haywire costars Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGreggor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Bill Paxton, and our review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

First Trailer for RUBY SPARKS Starring Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 19th, 2012 at 12:43 pm

The first trailer for Ruby Sparks, the follow-up feature for Little Miss Sunshine directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, has gone online.  The film stars Paul Dano as a once-great novelist who writes his dream girl who then comes to life.  The trailer is expectedly quirky with brief touches of Stranger Than Fiction, but overall I think it looks like a lot of fun.  The premise is certainly enticing, and Dano and Kazan (a couple in real life) seem to have some great onscreen chemistry.  As a character hints in the trailer, I’m incredibly interested to see how this ends.  It’s a brilliant plot device to play around in, but I’m assuming the success of the film as a whole will hinge on how the story concludes.  In the meantime, Faris and Dayton seem to promise a follow-up not dissimilar in tone to Little Miss Sunshine.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Steve Coogan, and Elliott Gould.  Ruby Sparks opens on July 25th.

Synopsis and Release Date for New Film from LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Directors, RUBY SPARKS, Starring Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 26th, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton scored a huge hit with Little Miss Sunshine, but had difficulty getting a follow-up off the ground.  The duo was attached to Will, which was set to star Paul Rudd and Zach Galifianakis, but the project fell apart.  There was also the possibility of the comedy The Abstinence Teacher starring Sandra Bullock and Steve Carell, but that fizzled out.  Then Faris and Dayton were attached to try and get the long-in-development Used Guys into production, but it didn’t happen.  Last year, they finally got a new movie in front of cameras.  The film, He Loves Me, stars Paul Dano as “a once-great novelist who is creativity blocked due to heartache and loneliness, only to be turned around when he writes his dream girl (Zoe Kazan) who then comes to life.”  The movie co-stars Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Steve Coogan, Elliott Gould, Chris Messina, and Deborah Ann Woll.

Today, Fox Searchlight sent out a press release announcing that the title had been changed to Ruby Sparks.  The studio also revealed an official synopsis and a release date.  Hit the jump for more.

Casting News: Antonio Banderas to Play Pablo Picasso in 33 DAYS; Jim Caviezel Joins Schwarzenegger and Stallone in THE TOMB

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 20th, 2012 at 8:38 am

We have a couple of quick casting stories to report this morning.  First up, Antonio Banderas will play Pablo Picasso in Carlos Saura‘s drama 33 dias (33 Days).  Per Variety, the movie is “about the painter’s emotional turmoil as he worked on masterpiece ‘Guernica.’ 33 dias refers to the time Picasso spent on the mural, which captured his reaction to the destruction of Basque town of Guernica in 1937 by the Nazi Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War.”  I would much rather see a biopic done in this fashion; taking a pivotal point of an artist’s life and putting all of the focus on that event rather than lumping it into a “greatest hits” narrative.  The story will also show his relationship with his lover, French artist Dora Maar, and how the painting was Picaso’s “salvation.”  Even though Banderas has done drama in the past, his recent turn in Pedro Almodovar‘s The Skin I Live In was powerful and deeply unnerving, and I can’t wait to see how he plays Picasso.  Filming is set to begin next summer in Paris and Guernica.

Hit the jump for more casting news on the action flick The Tomb.

HAYWIRE Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 3:01 pm

Men are taught (or at least they should be taught) to never hit a woman.  The lesson is based on the assumption that women are physically weaker and don’t have the strength to defend themselves (also, hitting people isn’t very nice in general).  But what if the woman can not only hit back, but her job is to hit back and she knows how to hit back harder than anyone?  In Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire, mercenary Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) is that woman, and Soderbergh is unapologetic about having her hit in return.  The film forces us to confront our convictions about the fragility of women, and where that belief comes from.  Is the movie a blow for equality in showing that women can take and dish out a beating like a man?  Is a woman’s physicality always sexual?  Haywire doesn’t have easy answers to these questions, but it has no problem asking them under the cover of a badass European flavored action-thriller.

Antonio Banderas Talks HAYWIRE and the PUSS IN BOOTS Sequel; Wants to Direct, Produce, and Star in Sci-fi Project SOLO

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 12th, 2012 at 9:10 am

With director Steven Soderbergh’s spy-action pic Haywire opening January 20th, this past weekend I got to sit down with most of the cast to talk about making the movie.  Starring MMA fighter Gina Carano as a burned spy who takes revenge against her handlers, Haywire also stars Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, and Bill Paxton.  I’ve seen Haywire twice now and it’s fantastic.  On top of Carano’s star-making performance, the action scenes are some of the best I’ve seen in years.   It’s absolutely something you should see in a theater.

During my interview with Banderas we talked about how he got involved in Haywire, his feelings on not being involved in more of the action scenes, karaoke, his home recording studio, and what’s up with the Puss in Boots sequel.   In addition, he talked about a sci-fi project that he’s developing (called Solo) which he would direct, produce and star in.  Hit the jump to watch.

3 Movie Clips and 37 Images from Steven Soderbergh’s HAYWIRE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 7th, 2012 at 6:00 pm

With director Steven Soderbergh’s spy-action pic Haywire opening January 20th, we’ve been provided with three clips and almost forty images from the film.  Staring MMA fighter Gina Carano as a burned spy who takes revenge against her handlers, Haywire also stars Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, and Bill Paxton.

I’ve seen Haywire twice now and it’s fantastic.  On top of Carano’s star in the making performance, the action scenes are some of the best I’ve seen in years.   It’s absolutely something you should see in a theater.  Hit the jump for the clips and images and look for my exclusive video interviews with the cast next week.

New Trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s HAYWIRE Starring Gina Carano

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 4th, 2012 at 4:25 pm

A new trailer for director Steven Soderbergh’s spy-action pic Haywire has gone online. The movie centers on a burned spy (MMA fighter Gina Carano) who takes revenge against her handlers. Soderbergh has surrounded Carano with a stellar ensemble of familiar faces (including Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Douglas), and the action scenes here look absolutely brutal. This new trailer delves a bit more into the plot, and it’s actually a tad spoiler-heavy by way of revealing a couple of the deaths that take place onscreen. Soderbergh’s an incredibly interesting director, and I’m intrigued to see how he handles a film this action-heavy  so it’s safe to say I’m anticipating Haywire quite a bit.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Channing Tatum, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, and Bill Paxton. Haywire opens January 20th.

New Posters for THE AVENGERS and HAYWIRE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 20th, 2011 at 9:54 am

New posters have gone online for The Avengers and Haywire.  Marvel seems to be taking a page from Warner Bros’ Harry Potter playbook by churning out as many character posters as possible between now and the arrival of the movie.  We’ve already seen the character banners, but now Marvel is disassembling these banners into individual posters.

There’s also a new poster for Haywire and it shares the same eye-catching design as the previous one-sheets.  It even makes the actors’ face-boxes look cool.  Hit the jump to check out the new posters.  Haywire opens January 20, 2012.  The Avengers opens in 3D on May 4, 2012.

New Trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s HAYWIRE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 10th, 2011 at 9:44 am

A new trailer for Steven Sodebergh‘s spy-action flick Haywire has gone online.  The film stars MMA fighter Gina Carano as a burned spy who takes revenge against her handlers.  The new trailer again sells the basic concept: here’s a woman who’s really hot, and she’ll hit you so hard that all of your progeny will feel pain.  The plot looks like standard spy-movie fare, but it appears that Soderbergh is setting his movie apart by embracing the brutality of the fight scenes between Carano and her male co-stars, and questioning how far the audience is willing to go when it comes to seeing a woman getting hit even though she’s holding her own in the fight.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.  The film also stars Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, and Bill Paxton.  Haywire opens January 20, 2012.

Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek PUSS IN BOOTS Interview

by Christina Radish    Posted: October 28th, 2011 at 8:18 am

In Puss in Boots, the adorable little creature with the deep voice who became a fan favorite in the Shrek films gets to go on his own adventure. A notorious fighter, lover and outlaw, Puss (Antonio Banderas) sets off with the tough and street smart Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and his childhood best friend Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), in search of magic beans to grow a beanstalk that will lead them to the fabled goose that can lay golden eggs. Making things rather difficult for them is the notorious Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris), who will do anything to see that the trio does not succeed.

At a press conference for the film, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek talked about how lucky and proud they are to be a part of the film, working without a script ahead of time as the story was developed along the way, and how the got the unusual opportunity to do a voice recording session together. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

PUSS IN BOOTS Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 27th, 2011 at 12:30 pm

Puss in Boots is an adventure movie, but the advertising and the film’s first act would like you to believe otherwise.  The filmmakers can’t be held responsible for DreamWorks Animation’s marketing campaign, but they can take the blame for setting up their movie as an action-comedy before choosing to drop the jokes and shifting into a rote adventure film that takes no chances, makes dated references, and short-changes its title character.  Ironically, the technical aspects of the movie are full of passion, but the story is as soulless and calculated as they come.

New Extended Clip from PUSS IN BOOTS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 26th, 2011 at 11:48 am

DreamWorks Animation has released a new five-minute clip from Puss in Boots.  I love the intro because watching Antonio Banderas try to dance while talking to a fake digital cat is hilarious.  As for the clip, it shows off the strong start to the movie where it’s balancing humor and action, plus it shows off the terrific animation and fantastic score.  While I’ll have my full review up on Friday, people should know that Puss in Boots drops most of the comedy after the first act and becomes a straight-up adventure movie.  This extended clip shows a good part of the movie, but only the animation and score stay strong throughout the film.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  Puss in Boots opens in 3D this Friday.

THE SKIN I LIVE IN Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 14th, 2011 at 5:45 am

[This is a re-print of my review that ran during the Toronto International Film Festival.  The film opens today in limited release.]

Never doubt Pedro Almodóvar. He may not deliver a movie you like, but it will probably be a movie unlike any you’ve seen that year. With his latest film, The Skin I Live In, he slow plays the audience. He introduces a slightly off-kilter world, but you can wrap your mind around it. When the film gets melodramatic, you’re slightly amused but you know that Almodóvar is no stranger to that tone. Then the movie gets a little slow, a little redundant, and dare I say a little pedestrian. And then The Skin I Live In starts building to something. You tell yourself…”No…that’s not going to happen. That’s too fucking crazy. He wouldn’t—” and then the film hits you with a twist that’s narratively sound, thematically fitting, and will leave you picking your exploded brain off the floor.

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