Michael Fassbender

Ridley Scott Confirmed to Next Direct Cormac McCarthy’s THE COUNSELOR; Michael Fassbender May Star

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 5:57 pm

Author Cormac McCarthy’s first screenplay is looking like it’s on the fast track to production. McCarthy, whose books have been adapted into such fantastic films as No Country for Old Men and The Road, sold the spec screenplay The Counselor last month, and a multitude of directors jumped at the chance to take the helm. Ridley Scott entered talks a few weeks ago, and now Deadline reports that Scott is confirmed to make The Counselor his next film. Furthermore, Scott is apparently talking to his Prometheus star Michael Fassbender about starring in the drama.

The story is described as “No Country for Old Men on steroids” and centers on a respected lawyer who thinks he can dip a toe in to the drug business without getting sucked down. He soon finds he’s in over his head and tries his best to get out of a desperate situation. Apparently a number of top actors are vying for roles in the pic, and Scott hopes to begin production on May 1st. Fassbender is a tremendous actor, and the idea of him tackling Cormac material is certainly exciting. He’s next set to reteam with Shame director Steve McQueen on the period drama Twelve Years a Slave. I sincerely hope he’s able to fit both films into his schedule.

Oscars 2012: Adam Predicts the Nominees

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 21st, 2012 at 2:38 pm

As I’ve been covering awards season pretty extensively here on the site over the past few months, I figured it would be appropriate to (foolishly) try to predict the upcoming Oscar nominations. It’s been a fairly tame year, as a few frontrunners were singled out early in the race and have held their ground throughout the grueling awards season. We haven’t been without a few surprises, as Steven Spielberg’s War Horse took a massive tumble following snubs from most of the major guilds, and David Fincher has surged back into the race bringing his adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with him.

Though there are plenty of safe bets when it comes to the 2012 Oscar nominations, there are still a few wildcards and tricky categories. I’ve put on my prognosticating cap (those interested can purchase one of these nifty hats at your local Target) and compiled a list of who and what I think will make the cut. Hit the jump to see how I think the nods will stack up when they’re announced on January 24th.

TOP 5: UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING Interviews, HAYWIRE Interviews, Recent Films/Retro Posters, Live-Action RUGRATS Trailer, Sundance 2012 Coverage

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 21st, 2012 at 1:17 pm

In last week’s “Top 5″ I spent the opening paragraph musing about my anticipation for Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire. I also promised the readers a quick “Before & After” discussion this week which would address whether or not the pic lived up to my expectations. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but said discussion will have to be postponed. I know, I know, I’m disappointed too. Fear not, though, I’m slated to check out the film tonight which means that I’ll be able to deliver on my promise, albeit a week late. In the meantime…

…This week’s “Top 5″ installment brings you interviews with the cast of Underworld: Awakening and the aforementioned Haywire, a gallery of recent films in retro poster form, an ultra-disturbing Rugrats live-action trailer, and all of our Sundance 2012 coverage to date. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

THE ARTIST and A SEPARATION Win Big at London Film Critics Circle Awards

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 2:14 pm

Another awards ceremony, another The Artist triumph. Michel Hazanavicius’ silent film continues its near sweep of awards season as it took home the Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor prize from the London Film Critics Circle Awards. Surprisingly, the other film to tie The Artist with three awards was the Iranian drama A Separation. The foreign film has been riding a wave of immense positive word of mouth, and the London Film Critics awarded the pic with Foreign Language Film of the Year, Best Screenwriter, and Best Actress.

Nearly shut out of the awards was Britain’s own Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The espionage drama failed to pick up any major prizes and was sent home with a win for Best Production Design. Elsewhere, We Need to Talk About Kevin was named Best British Film, Anna Paquin shared the Best Actress prize with Meryl Streep for her work in Margaret (quickly becoming the little engine that could), and Michael Fassbender won British Actor of the Year for his stellar work in Shame and A Dangerous Method. Full list of winners after the jump, which includes the critics’ top 10 films of 2011.

Michael Fassbender Talks HAYWIRE, TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE, PROMETHEUS, and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 1:57 pm

With director Steven Soderbergh’s spy-action pic Haywire opening this weekend, I recently got to speak 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 exclusive phone interview with Michael Fassbender we talked about how he got involved in Haywire, how he prepared for the role, the amazing fight scenes, how the script changed along the way, and if he remembered any of his training in real life.  In addition, we talked about whether or not he still has to audition, when he realized he’s won the actor’s lottery, what’s up with Twelve Year’s a Slave and the X-Men Sequel, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what he had to say.

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.

Online Film Critics Society Shows Love to THE TREE OF LIFE with 5 Awards including Best Picture

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 2nd, 2012 at 7:26 am

The Online Film Critics Society has chosen The Tree of Life as the Best Picture of 2011.  OFCS also awarded the film Best Director (Terrence Malick), Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain), Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.  At this point, it’s looking like The Tree of Life has enough steam to pick up an Oscar nomination for Best Picture since the Academy has the option of nominating up to ten films for the top prize.

OFCS did agree with my choices for Best Actor (Michael Fassbender for Shame) and Best Actress (Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk about Kevin).  In addition to being a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, I’m also a member of OFCS.  I only voted Tree of Life for Best Cinematography, but I don’t mind it winning other awards because I understand why other critics have dug the flick.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

Best Performances, Directing, Quotes, Kills, and More of 2011

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 27th, 2011 at 7:38 pm

As we cruise through awards season, eventually all of the Oscar categories will firm up.  Four nominees will be certain and there will be a little debate concerning who gets the fifth slot.  Some of those choices will be correct and others will be boring and predictable.  After the jump, I’ve put forward my picks for best actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, cinematography, animated film and documentary.  I’ve also thrown in my choices for non-Oscar categories for Breakthrough Performance, “A Very Good Year”, Best Villain, “Who’s a Good Boy?”, Best Quote, Best Kill, Best Surprise, and Biggest Disappointment.  I hope that one day the Academy will recognize the validity and necessity of a “Best Kill” Oscar.

Hit the jump to check out my miscellaneous “Best of 2011″ picks.

First Trailer for Ridley Scott’s PROMETHEUS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 22nd, 2011 at 8:44 am

20th Century Fox has released the first trailer for Prometheus, a sci-fi project from director Ridley Scott with ties to the Alien series.  Here’s the logline: “The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery.”  This is very much a teaser, as it focuses much more on mood than showcasing whole scenes. We don’t even really get a good look at any of the stars, but that’s inconsequential because the trailer does a damn fine job of sending chills down your spine regardless. If there was any doubt about the film’s connection to Alien, that’ll be put to rest after watching this trailer (the title appearance is fantastic). This marks a return not only to the sci-fi genre for Scott, but to horror, and I couldn’t be happier.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, and also Guy Pearce star. Prometheus is scheduled for release on June 8, 2012.

New Image from Ridley Scott’s PROMETHEUS Featuring Michael Fassbender [Updated with Final Trailer Preview]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 21st, 2011 at 10:56 am

In lieu of “Epic Trailers Week”, the first trailer for director Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is set to debut tomorrow. The studio has already released two “trailer previews” which reveal a bit of footage from the film as well as some behind-the-scenes material. Today Fox has released a new image from the sci-fi pic, giving us a new look at star Michael Fassbender. The actor plays an android in the Alien-tied movie, but that’s just about all we know about his character at the moment. The image isn’t too revealing, as it just shows Fassbender on some planet looking perplexed and holding a flashlight. From the material we’ve seen thus far, all signs point to Prometheus being a horror film which I’m very happy with. We should know more once the trailer hits tomorrow.

Hit the jump to check out the image. The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, and Guy Pearce. Prometheus opens in 3D on June 8th, 2012. [Update: A final trailer preview has been released, and I've included it after the jump along with the image.]

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.

Trailer Preview for Ridley Scott’s PROMETHEUS [Updated with a Second Preview Trailer]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 19th, 2011 at 11:11 am

A trailer for the trailer for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi pic Prometheus is now online. It’s a 30 second “trailer preview” for the actual trailer that will be released online this Thursday. It’s pretty similar to the footage we saw at Comic-Con, as it has some behind-the-scenes footage (as well as a tiny bit of actual footage) interspersed with Scott talking about the film on set (though the grainy stylistic flourish is a tad confusing). It ups the horror aspect of the flick, something I was extremely happy with when we saw the Comic-Con footage. As it has connections to Scott’s Alien, it really does look like he’s drawing from the horror tone of that pic instead of simply making a sci-fi actioner. While Scott recently stated that the xenomorph will “absolutely not” appear in Prometheus, I’m excited to see what sort of being will pop up in its place.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer preview, and come back to the site on Thursday to view the full-length trailer. The film stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, and Guy Pearce. Prometheus opens June 8th, 2012. [Update: a second trailer preview has been released that shows even more footage from the film. It's included after the jump.]

New Images from THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, THE HOBBIT, PROMETHEUS, THE AVENGERS, and More

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 16th, 2011 at 12:21 pm

Empire, just about the best movie magazine you can find, has released their 2012 preview and with that comes a batch of new images from some highly anticipated movies. The center-piece of the issues appears to be Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot The Amazing Spider-Man. It includes new images of Andrew Garfield as Spidey, as well as looks at Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as the villainous Lizard. The issue also brings us new looks at The Avengers (featuring the Thor-Captain America street battle that was capture from every angle by set videos), Dredd, The Hobbit, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, the new James Bond film Skyfall, and Snow White and the Huntsman. Hit the jump to check out the images.

Winners Announced for British Independent Film Awards; TYRANNOSAUR Wins Best Picture, Debut Director, and Actress

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 4th, 2011 at 7:18 pm

The 14th Annual British Independent Film Awards were held tonight and the brutal drama Tyrannosaur took home trophies for Best Film, Best Debut Director (Paddy Considine), and Best Actress (Olivia Colman).  Other BIFA winners included Senna for Best Documentary, Lynne Ramsay for Best Director (We Need to Talk about Kevin), Michael Fassbender for Best Actor (Shame), and Richard Ayoade for Best Screenplay (Submarine).

I thought Tyrannosaur failed to derive honest drama from its ugliness and violence, but I can understand why the movie struck a chord with most viewers.  As for the other winners, I think Ramsay is still an outsider in the Oscar race, but Fassbender, Ayoade, and Colman may have boosted their chances, although Colman will probably compete in the Best Supporting Actress category since that’s where she has a better chance for a nomination.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

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